


Scenting and Bite Marks

by PolarGrizz47



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Death assossicated with job, F/F, Gore, M/M, Murder, Post-Game, Seb is a grumpy and scruffy old werewolf and nobody could convince me otherwise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-28 00:02:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 39,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2711591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolarGrizz47/pseuds/PolarGrizz47
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian's late night habits are starting to interfere with his job performance, and Joseph takes the brunt of the burden, leaving Sebastian wracked with guilt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trouble Sleeping...

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic in this fandom is werewolves, why am I not surprised?

“Sebastian.” Joseph’s voice is lost to the other man, who was merely staring past the computer screen in front of him; looking like he was about to pillow his face into the desk in front of him and cover the pesky paperwork with saliva.

Julie sent the smaller man a knowing grin and the detective glowered under her teasing grin. Clearing his throat, Joseph tried again as he stood up from his pristine desk to go aid his partner. “Seb?” By the time he was standing by the other man with a frown, Castellanos is licking his suddenly dry lips and jerking to attention.

“M’yeah?” The larger man grunted with a thick swallow as he rubbed his eyes with his clenched hands. He knows that Joseph is worried about him. He’d come stumbling into the station looking lost and bewildered more than once.

Those dark eyes bore into Sebastian’s own light golden ones and the other detective finally breaks eye contact while aimlessly tapping a few keys into a document on his computer. “I’m fine, Joseph… let’s just focus on this case.”

His partner doesn’t look at all convinced but he silently stalks over to his desk across from the older detective and sits there with a silent stare. Sebastian tries to promise himself he’ll try to get some sleep tonight, just for Joseph’s sake.

Though that gets increasingly hard to do when the primal side of him encourages late runs and howls at the moon.

-:-

Even though they’re rushing to grab their winter coats, Sebastian takes the time to breathe in a lungful of the scent rolling off Joseph’s turned back as the smaller man shrugs on a thick winter coat. The black coat goes to his partners thighs and has a high collar to protect against the wind while still flexible enough to move around. He can tell its wool and the pea-coat style actually hugs his partner’s smaller frame quite nicely.

Joseph turns his head and catches him staring and Sebastian clears his throat to tug on his own trench coat. “Let’s catch this guy, Jojo.” He hopes the ill-favored nickname will take the younger man’s mind off the topic of his staring.

His partner simply gives a curt nod, double checking his gun before it disappears into the holster and is covered up by that coat. While Joseph and Kidman are whisked away for the moment, Sebastian scents the lingering smells of Joseph.

His partner always smelled so clean, but his inner wolf could pick up on the traces of coffee and an aftershave that smells like something herbal. His hair gel is faint, and oddly smells like coconuts. Sebastian descends out into the street, slipping into the passenger seat of the police cruiser and he glances at Connelly.

The scene reminds him of Ruvik’s mind prison and he shudders, barely suppressing a growl at the memories.

He can still remember the exact moment that Oda found out about the pesky little curse that gave the older detective a brutal edge.

_“Sebastian… Jesus, Seb.” His voice cracks and Joseph sits heavily on one of the many scattered church benches. Sebastian stops staring at the purple and green stain glass and regards his partner with a worried look._

_It was always hard to watch their reactions to his hidden truth. Especially considering he’d just ripped apart two giants with nothing but his bare claws and jaws. He can still taste the putrid blood on his lips and his eyes haven’t stopped glowing their natural golden hue._

_He watches helplessly while Joseph sags to the side and clutched at his side as if in pain. His inner wolf implores him to aid his companion, and he does so readily._

_Joseph leans into his tender touches and his voice is hardly a whispering ghost while Sebastian crouches and simply holds him. “It’s alright, Joseph.” He grunts, unsure of what else to say._

_What is one supposed to say when their greatest secret was just revealed in one of the worst ways possible?_

Shaking his head free of those memories, Sebastian glances into the rearview mirror and watches while Joseph flips open the little black pocketbook and reviews notes.

After a moment their eyes meet and his partner sends him a tiny, knowing smile.

Sebastian merely grins back as the car slowly lurches from the street and takes them to the next reported crime scene in the winter chill.


	2. Victim Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian and the team investigate the new crime scene, and he can't seem to make those pesky thoughts and memories go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this really quickly before going to class.  
> Sorry for the errors!

It was a messy scene. Blood was spreading out of the tile and creeping slowly from the steps of the stairs, making a sort of god-awful waterfall.

Kidman was talking to the first responders and the couple that had found his body. Joseph was crouched down next to the dead man and examining evidence, careful not to step in the blood or touch anything. Even with those gloves on, he could ruin evidence and didn’t want to even risk anything like that.

Sebastian stood with his hands in his coat pockets, watching from the bottom of the short flight of stairs as blood dripped down from the man’s slit throat.

Their killer seemed to like that method the best. All three, now four, of the victims had their throats cut wide open with something insanely sharp.

The skin wasn’t even ripped, just neatly sliced open.

Shaking that disturbing thought aside, Sebastian lifted his head when he heard his partner’s voice above the shuffle of police men and the hysterical couple.

“I think I’ve found something, can you come up here?” Joseph was now standing, his little black notebook was hidden from view and instead his gloved hands where fisted carefully at his sides. Inquisitive eyes told Sebastian that the younger man was on edge.

“Sure thing.” He responded casually, shrugging his shoulders in hopes in alleviating some of Joseph’s worry. The man had been carefully curt and silent ever since emerging from Beacon. It worried Sebastian to no end, but they’d been talking and visiting each other more frequently ever since the accident.

As he took the side of the stairs, mindful not to step on any blood splatters, Sebastian let his golden eyes take in every little detail of his partner.

Joseph’s hair was always neatly pressed to his skull, keeping it both slicked backwards and combed over to one side. His eyes were such a deep brown that Sebastian could’ve sworn they were black, but his youth was slowly fading with the work load and stress of becoming a detective. Worry lines were starting to show on his face, branching out from his eyes and forming a few, faint wrinkles on his forehead as well. He was always so pale, but Sebastian had learned from time that his partner preferred to stay at home with a good book and a cup of tea during his time off. He’d often had wondered if Joseph had worked out to keep his shape, but a few visits from the neat apartment had revealed a small set of weights and much to his amazement, a yoga mat folded carefully in the corner.

The number of times he’d gotten off on the images his imagination could come up with was downright humiliating. No doubt Joseph was flexible and perfectly toned under his prim little vest and tie. Sebastian had caught himself staring at his partner’s backside more than once, and he was sure Joseph had caught him to.

He’d never considered Joseph that way until after the events of Ruvik’s mind hell. All the stress and the fear that he’d really lost Joseph that time had been enough to snap something inside him. It was borderline instinct now. He wanted to protect Joseph and when he’d seen Kidman shoot his partner, he was certain he’d failed.

He was sure the nurse had witnessed a few brutal acts of grieving. The room was a mess of scratches and flipped over objects by the time she’d knocked on the door. Sebastian can still remember her carefully crisp tone as she stared in through the bars on the door.

_“Detective Castellanos, you should calm down. It’s not healthy to release such rage in a small room.” Her voice floated between his snarls and she didn’t even seem disturbed to see a raging beast contained there._

_His fur was long since covered in the gore of survival and his claws were beginning to chip and throb painfully while he ran his large paw over the edge of the bed, slicing the covers there and letting out another snarl._

_Wild golden eyes stared into her impassive ones and Sebastian suddenly felt all the fight leave his body._

_Joseph was dead._

“Are you even listening? Seb?” A small hand carefully settled on his forearm, snapping Sebastian from his worrisome memories. Joseph’s lips twitched into a tiny smile as the man seemed to return to reality. “Okay, now look here a moment and tell me if I’m seeing things.”

They both crouched down and this time, Joseph’s hand still lingered on his arm, a silent act of comfort.

They both needed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is slowly building up... >:3  
> Love to see what you guys think!


	3. Knives and Painful Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian and Joseph discuss the possible murder weapon and the older detective still lingers on the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, unbeta-ed!   
> But hey, two chapters in one day?  
> I'll call that a victory.

“You think it’s a what?” Sebastian blinked tiredly while Joseph pointed out the type of cut on their victim’s throat. The other detective gave him an unimpressed stare at his confusion brought on by lack of sleep.

“I think you need to sleep more.” Joseph deadpanned before focusing once more on the horizontal slash splitting their victim’s neck open widely. “Look here, all the skin is neatly opened. This blade was extremely sharp, and it’s deeper towards the end, perhaps a knife with a curve?”

“Curved edge, got it.” Sebastian parroted, blinking rapidly to fight off the sudden exhaustion that took over his body. He’d gotten a grand total of maybe three hours of sleep for every day this passing week. His need to drive to the outskirts of the city and into the approaching forests was near compulsive.

He craved that fresh night air, he craved shedding out of his coat and his equipment and just letting go. Sebastian loved the feel of the chilly night air weaving through his fur and the distant sounds of crickets and the crunch of leaves underfoot for his incredibly sensitive hearing to pick up on. All his bound energy could be released in his more natural form, while his human form he had to be constantly on alert.

Don’t squeeze hands too tight. Don’t let your fangs show. Don’t keep eye contact too long. And most of all, don’t go scenting things or rubbing up things to mark them as yours.

Sebastian had never met another wolf in person, but he’s picked up on the lingering scents on people and places. With people it was always so awkward. They hardly even know of the effect it had on him, on his inner wolf, knowing that somebody had basically claimed them as a ‘mate.’

Sometimes he was jealous. Other times he found the act to be rather shameless and dangerous in his profession. Marking something meant that it held a great place in the wolf’s heart. It was a primal, deep and unfound love that was clearly on display for anyone with the right nose to pick up on.

You could destroy a wolf by ruining their mate.

When Myra died, he’d nearly went off the deep end. Sebastian tried to stray from the memories following the weeks when he’d finally realized his wife _was gone_. He’d spent nearly a month in those out skirting forests. He’d tore through cattle, marked all the trees with his rage and slept in a small patch of trees that had been uprooted, using them as a cave of sorts.

Sebastian knows that deep down, the only reason he came back is because Joseph went missing.

 It was a lucky moment in time that he needed to go to his abandoned car to fetch some old things to remind himself of _her scent_ , and while he was digging through the cab, he’d found his phone on the passenger seat. Its battery hadn’t died only because it was off the entire time, and when he turned it on, he wasn’t surprised to see that his voicemail box was full and his messages were blinking a mile a minute, most of them from his concerned partner.

One voicemail that he bothered listening to was the chief’s, just make sure he hadn’t lost his badge in his absence.

_“Detective Castellanos, I don’t even know if you’re even still alive… fuck, listen-” Her voice sounds so stressed and tired and Sebastian couldn’t help but pity his chief. “Sebastian, Joseph has gone missing. I know you and Oda didn’t always get along, but he went missing looking for you-”_

_Sebastian had stopped listening at that point and instead threw himself into the driver’s seat praying that the keys where still located in the ignition as he fumbled to start the car. He hadn’t been in his human form for weeks and it showed._

_Joseph had really tried to keep him from drowning himself in alcohol and throwing himself headlong into danger, and Sebastian realized the crushing guilt Joseph must’ve felt when he realized that Sebastian had somehow gone missing, despite his best efforts._

_Sebastian knew he was to blame for his partner’s disappearance._

“A fillet knife might fit the description…” Joseph began, then faltered when he realized how intensely Sebastian was staring at him. “What? Did I get any evidence on me?” He tilted his head and blinked a few times while waiting for his older partner to speak up.

Sebastian could see his own worried and worn expression in Joseph’s glasses and he forced a smile. “No, sorry, go on detective. A fillet knife?”

“…Yes.” The younger man looked a bit bothered by the staring, and the questions curled up under his tongue, but he’d wait until they were both in a more appropriate area to discuss them. He’d caught Sebastian staring at him more and more since the events at Beacon. “Look here, there are cuts on his hands.” A gloved hand pointed to the victims clutched hands. “And his hands are curled into fists, he fought back. This is new – the others were taken by surprise, or didn’t fight.”

“Good observation, Jojo. I think this man fought back, look here, there is some blood under his fingernails. Maybe enough to get a DNA sample?” Sebastian focused all his attention into the victim’s body, and tried to ignore the little perfect smile that situated itself on Joseph’s face after the praise.

Up this close, Sebastian could smell meat on the victim. It was faint and clearly pork, and the victim didn’t look like a man to work in the field of packaging and processing meats. In fact, the man looked more like a scholar, with his glasses and light almond hair and half open green eyes. He almost reminded him of Joseph, with that vest and the crumpled, bloodied tie.

He suddenly remembered how Joseph had looked like after Kidman shot him right in the chest, and it caused a rather sudden and involuntary _growl_ to rise from his throat. It startled Joseph enough that he nearly fell on his ass and stared at Sebastian. His dark eyes were full of concern and as Sebastian looked closer, fear.

He stood up too quickly and pointedly looked away from his partner. Sebastian couldn’t stand that look of fear that lingered on the younger man’s face. He was a monster living in false skin and Joseph knew the truth.

“Seb?” The other detective spoke quietly, slowly standing himself and pressing a concerned hand to the older man’s shoulder. When Sebastian didn’t respond, Joseph took in a sharp breath and both knew what was about to happen.

Either Joseph was going to give him a tongue lashing, or a worried speech.

Before his younger partner could formulate any words, Sebastian beat him to it. “I don’t like the fact that there’s a psychopath out stalking the streets of Krimson, and we haven’t caught them yet.” He lied with such ferocity and bundled up emotion that Joseph had to believe him.  

The younger’s eyes closed and he shook his head sadly as he glanced down at the victim. “Me to Seb, but … we’ll catch them.” His tone promised vengeance and Sebastian found himself nodding when Joseph turned those wonderfully dark eyes on him once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, this one is a little longer, yay!  
> I'll probably elude more to what happened to Joseph when he went missing before Beacon.   
> Hope to hear more feedback, you guys have been great and I'm super excited to finally approach this budding fandom!


	4. It's Gonna Be A Long Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They wrap up the investigation of the body and Sebastian is reminded of his time shortly after STEM.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW, three guys, three chapters today.  
> Don't expect it to be always like this.  
> Again, not beta-ed!

It was late by the time they left the crime scene, the sky was a darkening grey and a few snowflakes were starting to pepper the ground underfoot.

As Sebastian exited the stuffy building with their victim still sprawled out on the stairs, he was thankful for the cool blast of air. Digging into his pockets on the trench coat, he breathed a sigh of relief upon finding his pack of cigarettes.

Joseph exited just as Sebastian lit one up and lifted it to his lips, the smaller man watching the tail end of the smoke drifting through the sky. Connelly came sauntering over with Julie by his side, and she looked exhausted after dealing with people left and right while Joseph and Sebastian had occupied themselves with the body.

“Back to the station?” She asked, pushing a stray lock of hair from her face and nearly purple eyes. Sebastian sucked in another much needed lungful of smoke while his partner answered for them.

“Yes, we’re going to see if we can make any leads and fill out the report on this victim. It’s going to be a long night.” Joseph’s careful tone was enough to make Kidman sigh heavily and let her shoulders slump. “This is what we do… you should get more sleep.” The detective tsked and sent Sebastian a look that said, ‘ _You to, Seb_.’

She gave them a halfhearted smile, and they both knew she’d been having late night calls with her psychiatrist to deal with a few haunts from her time plugged into STEM. They all were trying to work through those memories and move on.

Each of them had been traumatized in more way than one, and Sebastian can smell the lingering fear on his team and even himself some nights when it was just them at the office. When the phone would ring and Joseph would jump slightly in alarm upon hearing the sudden loud noise, or how Julie would check the halls subtly before exiting a room and even how Sebastian glances around the office for any cracks in their normal reality.

It was almost like they expected the floor to open up and swallow them whole before pushing them back down into that hell-hole. Sebastian had caught himself counting heads more than once as they walked through a crowd or explored a crime scene. He’d even grown more protective of Connelly, much to his distress.

His time in STEM had pushed his inner wolf’s instincts to a new sort of extreme and sometimes, he couldn’t stop the odd little growls that arose from his throat when somebody looked at Julie wrong, or was a little too rude with Joseph.

He was nearly certain that he’d lost all that he’d grown to care about after his wife and daughter… memories from exiting STEM rose to his mind and were impossible to ignore.

_The SWAT team flew by him in such a way that their movements made his head spin. Darkness threatened to overcome at the corner of his eyes and his vision blurred a little with each step. It felt like his entire body had been electrocuted for hours on end and as if a small portion of his mind had receded into a safe, small space until a later date._

_He was in too much shock to clearly process the hell he’d been put through and the only thing that mattered at that moment was water and rest._

_Stumbling down the steps of the mental hospital, Sebastian was approached by a few worried paramedics who forced him to sit down when he insisted that he was okay. They checked his vitals, which were too high to be normal given his lack of physical injuries and were half way’s through checking his blood pressure for the second time when a series of shouts and garbled words suddenly came booming from the hospital._

_The sounds made the detective hop to his feet, much to the paramedic’s distress, but when Sebastian started up those steps once more, they realized they’d never be able to stop him. The shouts grew louder, and Sebastian was about halfway up the grand stone steps when Joseph came bursting from the still open doors with SWAT members right on his heels._

_“Joseph?” He shouted in alarm when a few of the others grabbed onto him and forced him to stay still. The younger detective kicked, screamed and punched his way out of their hold and took off running towards the gardens. He didn’t get too far though, for a quick footed man tackled him and pinned him to the wet ground. Joseph writhed and thrashed, but more piled on to hold him down while he continued to scream himself raw._

_“Let me through – I’m his partner, I can help!” Sebastian roared, trying to push himself through a few of the men until they finally understood what he was saying over Joseph’s panicked screaming. “Joseph – It’s me, it’s Seb.” He tried to soothe, kneeling next to his pinned partner and placing a hesitant hand on the wild man’s shoulder._

_Joseph’s screaming stopped abruptly and he stared at Sebastian like he’d seen a ghost. Finally, with a face drained of all color and eyes wide as saucers, he whispered, “Don’t let them take me back. Don’t let them take me back, Sebastian – I’m not going in there – tell them I’m not going in there-”_

_“Get a sedative, he’s too worked up!” A SWAT member shouted while Sebastian gently ran a hand through Joseph’s damp hair and made promises to keep him safe. While the paramedics scrambled to fulfill the request, Julie came rushing out of the building, awfully silent but clearly on the run from something that still lingered in her mind._

_Sebastian hadn’t even checked to see who all was in the building, and seeing another teammate so soon made his heart swell with joy and his stomach drop with worried horror at their odd behavior._

_Although considering what they’ve all been through, it wasn’t really odd._

_She didn’t get far, and as soon as she was tackled in much the same fashion as Joseph, she’d started warring with the SWAT members and all throughout her thrashing, she hadn’t said a word. Joseph was quite the opposite. He went on and on about how he wouldn’t go back in there, about how it was too much for him and he was positively losing his mind._

_Kidman was obviously being more physically aggressive, so the paramedics were directed to ‘settle her down’ first. The moment she’d seen that needle, the barrier of silence was pushed open and the woman started bloody howling at the top of her lungs. She kicked and raged and pleaded while they pushed her flat on her stomach and held her as still as they could while they stuck her with the needle. Slowly, her fighting simmered down and she slumped to the ground._

_“Hey – what the fuck was that for?” Sebastian shouted, standing up as the paramedics approached Joseph next. The man reacted in much the same way Julie had to seeing the needle, and Sebastian clenched his hands into fists and swung at the closest SWAT member. “Leave him alone – no!” While a handful stopped Joseph from escaping, a few more were committed to holding down the elder detective as well. “Let go of me! LET GO!” He roared, punching and kicking like a wild horse while he watched with fiery golden eyes as Joseph hollered and screamed before being injected._

_As the younger man slipped into unconscious, they turned on Sebastian with a new needle filled with the stuff. He tried his best to twist out of their holds, but he wasn’t used to fighting creatures that could counter and actually had half a mind to fight back with. This oddity coupled with physiological stress and exhaustion led to a brutal pinning and Sebastian watched when they pressed his face into the wet stone and held his arm down while the needle emptied out into his veins._

_Shortly thereafter, darkness clouded his vision and all he felt was rage._

_Waking up again left him in a high level hospital with two men posted outside his door and one hand cuffed to the bed._

“You’re going to burn yourself,” Joseph noted quietly while he watched Sebastian standing there, letting the cigarette burn itself out nearly to the space between his fingers. While the older detective muttered and dropped the offending and cancer causing agent, Joseph stood close and watched when the smoke died under Sebastian’s twisting foot.

They both stared up at the falling snow for a moment longer before slowly following Kidman and Connelly to the cruiser. Sebastian said nothing when Julie gleefully called dibs on shotgun and instead folded himself into the back, smirking silently to himself when he made the junior detective pull up her seat so he could stretch his legs out.

Joseph grinned at her pout while Connelly laughed at her misfortune and was rewarded with a sharp slap to his shoulder. The ride back to the station was slow and careful, and Sebastian found himself closing his eyes and tipping his head back into the seat, feeling a weeks’ worth of exhaustion nipping at his already heavy eyelids.

The younger detective watched while his partner fell into sleep, and found himself smiling at the relaxed, open mouthed expression and the slow rise and fall of Sebastian’s chest.

He’d let the man sleep for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone got fucked up after leaving STEM, and the only way I can imagine them all like this and sort of 'normal' again is with serious professional help and personal help among themselves for the secrets they share.  
> Love to hear feedback~ :)


	5. Coffee So Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team buckles down to find a few reasonable suspects for the killings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a filler chapter.  
> Written at 12:36 in the morning, whoops.  
> Sorry for any errors that may follow in the below text.

“Sebastian.” Joseph whispered gently, placing a scalding hot cup of coffee on the edge of his partner’s desk. It was nearing one in the morning, and the only reason the younger man could stay awake so long was due to his own growing shots of caffeine.

Sebastian had once again dozed off, and it was Joseph’s turn to pull the man back into consciousness since Julie was buckling down and making a list of all known butcheries where fish could also be served. Joseph had suggested it simply because Sebastian had pulled him over to talk over another smoke break before they actually started filling out paperwork.

_“Hey, Jojo.” Sebastian had placed a warm palm on his shoulder, directing him away from the steps of the station and instead implored him to silently join his smoke break. Connelly and Julie didn’t ask any questions, they never did._

_They were almost like four musketeers at this point, an unshakeable bond had silently knit them together ever since waking up from whatever sick twisted reality Ruvik and the STEM researchers had forced them into._

_The good doctor had never made it out, much to Sebastian’s initial surprise. Guilt still ate at him some nights, but after discovering some shade of the truth, he’d learned to accept it for what it was._

_Dr. Jimenez had been killed in the STEM world, completely squished to smithereens, but Joseph and Connelly had also been killed. It raised all sorts of questions for everyone, but they silently shouldered the burden of being the only four to walk out of that hell-hole alive._

_“Another one?” Joseph asked suspiciously, crossing his arms against the sudden rush of freezing wind and watching the flap of Sebastian’s trench coat against the breeze. The older man heaved a sigh and gently put the pack back into his pocket, aiming to please his younger partner. Joseph was always the one to worry over their health like a little hen nervously pecking about her chicks. The only answer Sebastian got was a wide smile for his actions._

_“Listen, back there… when I got up close to the body I could smell – don’t think I’m crazy – meat. Pork, specifically.” Sebastian muttered while shifting the worn brown coat on his shoulders and cinching the belt a little tighter just so it wouldn’t billow open annoyingly. Cold was never really a problem for him. Everyone joked about him being ‘The Human Torch’ at the office, but now that Joseph knew the truth, it was a bit harder for him to force a laugh at those jokes._

_“Pork.” Joseph repeated and quickly fished for his notebook before flipping it open. “Paired with the suspicion of a fillet knife… maybe the killer is a butcher? They’re obviously skilled with blades…”_

_“Exactly. Let’s track down some butcheries that serve fish. Fillet knives are used for boning fish and we can question the owners of butcher shops that fit the description.” Sebastian watched while Joseph neatly scribbled down some notes and stashed the little black book safely away._

“He’s not getting up.” Kidman laughed from her spot behind her desk, hurriedly typing down another address and crossing that name off the books as she went about her search. Joseph thinned his lips and determinedly gave his partner’s shoulders a little shake.

“Come on, Seb, we’re not done yet.” He mumbled, watching while the older man grunted and groaned at the sudden light from the computer screen. “That’s it.” The younger man smiled now and leaned against the edge of the desk with his own cup of black coffee cradled in his palm.

“M’up.” Sebastian rumbled, forcing his amber eyes open and rubbing at them with one hand while the other blindly reached around for the coffee he could smell. Joseph silently aided him in locating the cup and began to drift back over to his desk.

By the time Sebastian was forced back into the land of the living, the insanely sweet coffee was nearly gone and Kidman was reaching for her own mug of apple cider. She never really liked too much coffee, but cider seemed to be something she greatly enjoyed in these chilly evenings and mornings, so Sebastian had silently stashed some by the coffee maker one morning.

“Better?” Joseph asked from his desk, filling out the victim’s description and trying to put the cause of death in, officially he had to wait until it was declared by the coroner but they all knew what the cause was. A slit throat was rather hard to ignore.

Sebastian licked his lips and shrugged before answering. “Could’ve used more sugar, Jojo.” A few glandules of sugar clutched vainly at the bottom and his partner made a sickened face.

“I _poured_ sugar into it, Seb.” He stuck out his tongue subconsciously at the mere thought of coffee so sweet it could rot your teeth. “You and Connelly both are going to go into sugar induced comas.”

“Mhm, sweet tooth, right?” Sebastian grinned from ear to ear at the eye roll he was rewarded with before setting aside the now empty cup and picking up his pen.

They had work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a lame chapter, I know.  
> I would've written more, but today I had an allergic skin reaction to something I touched and I'm going to take some meds and sleep it off. (Hopefully it'll go away.... o-o)  
> Hope you enjoy this one, I added a few headcannons about their coffee habits.  
> Seb's is insanely sweet (Connelly likes his sweet too, but not as sweet as Sebastian's)  
> Jojo likes his pitch black and strong.  
> Julie will drink coffee is she has to, she likes more milk in hers, but apple cider is her go-to.  
> Comments always appreciated!! :)


	6. Frosted Over Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian has a slow start to the morning and the pressure increases when they find a fifth victim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gave me A LOT of grief for some reason..  
> Sorry for the multitude of errors in this. :P

By the time they’d called it a night, it was nearly three in the morning. Joseph offered to drive Julie home since her truck was still in the shop, thanks to a little fender bender that happened on the first icy winter morning. Sebastian wished them all a safe ride home before hurriedly grabbing his own keys and trench coat.

His shoulders and neck were stiff from sitting in a hunched over positon for far too long, and as he stretched the stubborn muscles, he realized that it was a futile endeavor. Groaning, he shuffled his way down the steps to his modest little silver car. It looked like it had seen better years, but it was a powerful little vehicle and just the right size to sleep in whenever he became too drunk to drive himself home.

Sebastian shoved the key into the lock as he reflected on those drunken times. Joseph had pulled his ass out of some many meaningless fights and kept him from crashing and burning some nights. He’s not even sure how many hours of lost sleep he caused his partner.

Wrenching open the door and heavily sitting down in the seat, Sebastian started his trustworthy engine and slammed the car door closed. The wind howled through the empty streets, forcing granules of snow to pile up on the windows and frost to form over stray puddles of water in the street.

Placing it into gear, Sebastian paused to stare out towards the street, narrowing his eyes against a few lights and longing for the wild once again. His eyes drifted to the clock, 3:10 am. _Enough time for a quick little run around the forest_ , he told himself before carefully putting his foot to the pedal.

-:-

_“You’ve got to relax, Sebastian… close your eyes, and just feel.” Her voice is soft and airy; blending in perfectly with the whispering wind and Sebastian has to close his eyes against the sensations. It was almost too much for his new and reborn body. It felt like he was touching a live-wire all the time, energy was pounding through his veins and he just needed to let it all out._

_Myra grinned and rubbed his back, crouching down next to the tall grass with Sebastian and slipping the backpack off her shoulders. The man groaned and let her pry his coat off before running a hand through his hair. “Okay, honey, you’ve just got to… let it take over. I know it’s hard right now, but I trust in you.”_

_“L-Let it take over? What’s that supposed to mean?” He grunted, trying to close his eyes and just shut down the intense feelings running rampant through his body. She soothingly pressed her hand against the bare skin of his shoulder where the shirt collar was open too much and he shivered under her fingertips._

_“It means you’ve got to shift into what I made you.”_

__-:-

Parking the car at four in the morning is not at all what Sebastian’s tired body wanted to do. His eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but his inner wolf rumbled with pleasure when the chilly morning air hit his face. Sebastian gently shrugged out of his coat and placed it with great care on the driver’s seat, and then hid his keys in one of its deep pockets. Next came his weapon harness and his badge; his fingers carefully slipping the small and silver object off his belt, but he still ended up burning them on the badge.

Everything else would be fine, gone were the days of shredding his clothes when he turned. Myra had taught him a few useful tricks that she learned from carefully forcing herself to adapt over the years.

Bracing his spine and squaring his shoulders, Sebastian took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

-:-

Joseph strode through the police station with a critical look in his eye. Another body had been found this morning and he wasn’t in the mood for games. People stayed clear of him and instead busied themselves with morning coffee and old reports.

Kidman and Oscar had simply shaken their heads when he questioned them, and Joseph found out that they were just on their way to check out the crime scene.

“Where’s Sebastian?” He questioned with a curt nod towards his partner’s empty desk. Connelly thinned his lips and grabbed his cruiser keys before heading towards the door with Kidman.

“He never showed up this morning, might still be sleeping.” He quipped before shrugging on his winter coat and then following Julie out. “We’ll meet you at the crime scene.”

The younger detective collapsed back into his chair and ran a hand over his throbbing forehead. Joseph didn’t sleep well last night, and had gotten up early to take a cold shower that helped block out some of the more painful memories of STEM. However, the coffee had left him jittery and he rocked impatiently in the chair for a moment before picking up his phone and calling Sebastian.

-:-

Snoring loudly, Sebastian slept face down in the pillow with his boots still on. The shrill sounds of his valiantly ringing cell phone tried to jerk him into consciousness from the deep depths of the trench coat and Sebastian groaned a little, pressing his face deeper into the pillow.

When the ringing didn’t stop, he was forced to pat himself down until he located the offending object. Glaring at the small screen, Sebastian tried to make out the numbers before realizing it was Joseph calling from the precinct.

Groggily, he hit the answer button and smashed the phone against his face while he trying to sit up. His head pounded unhappily and it almost felt like he was hung over, but in truth, he was simply drop-dead tired.

“Seb?” Joseph’s worried voice filtered through the line and Sebastian merely grunted in reply. “Where are you? It’s almost nine-thirty.” He didn’t sound impressed and Sebastian could nearly picture the frown on his younger partners face when he closed his eyes. “Somebody reported another body.”

“What? Another one?” Sebastian forced himself to swing his legs over the bed and he stared down at the mud caked onto his boots. Groaning, he stumbled into the bathroom and flicked on the light. Instantly he regretted that action and squeezed his eyes shut against the brightness.

“Yes, this time right outside of a gas station. Our killer is getting bolder.” Joseph continued to talk while Sebastian glared at the image of himself in the mirror. Stray leaves poked out of his deep brown hair and dried sweat mixed with lingering dirt on his face. “Sebastian, I need my partner on this one. When will you be here?”

“Soon. Give me thirty minutes or less, m’kay?” Sebastian garbled out the words and waited for Joseph’s curt reply before hanging up. Sleepily, he proceeded to strip down and force himself into the shower. The freezing water aided in snapping him into consciousness before the warm liquid ran over his body.

Staring down at the drain, he watched a mixture of dirt and forest debris nearly clog it before shoving some shampoo through his hair and rubbing his golden skin down with a bar of soap. For a moment Sebastian paused and pressed his forehead against the cool tile before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

 _Another body_.

It was almost like his day couldn’t get any worse, and it was only morning.

Stumbling from the shower with a fresh mist following him, Sebastian took little time to dry himself properly before trying to force his damp body into a pair of jeans. After nearly tripping and knocking himself out on the bathroom counter, Sebastian shoved a bristly toothbrush into his mouth and hastily brushed his teeth.

He debated shaving before figuring that he didn’t have enough time for that, plus his hands were shaking too badly to take that risk. It was downright humiliating whenever he cut himself on a razor and if he didn’t have to suffer the stares, he wouldn’t.

A budding beard was better than an uneven shave.

Rumbling with a growl, he tried to brush his dripping wet hair back with his fingers before stalking out into the kitchen to find something to eat. Leftover macaroni and cheese was the lucky winner and he carried the bowl around with him while he pulled on his shirt and a pair of thick socks.

By the time he hit the street it was almost ten and he barely remembered to lock his door before rushing out to the haphazardly parked car.

-:-

“Geeze, look at this mess.” Connelly made a disgusted face while he watched Julie circle the body from afar. The woman’s neck was evenly torn open and the excess of blood had dyed her pretty green blouse nearly black. Frost clung to her body stubbornly and her car keys were still clutched in one gloved hand.

Joseph pulled up in his sleek blue car and parked next to one of the many cruisers littering the scene. While he walked over, Oscar waited to see Sebastian climb out, but eventually figured that the older detective hadn’t hitched a ride with Joseph. “What happened to Sebastian?”

“He’ll be here later. Had a late start to the day.” Joseph narrowed his eyes against the frigid air and tried to ignore the way his glasses fogged up around the edges. “Do we have an estimated time of death?”

Kidman had already talked to the first responders and was getting ready to confront the worker that had found her body. Biting her lip, the woman spared a glance back to the victim’s body before answering. “They found her around eight in the morning, but the paramedics speculate she bled out around five, enough time for the frost to form.” When Joseph looked around for any nearby security cameras, Kidman added, “The owner has yet to install cameras.”

“Maybe this will encourage them to get that done then…” Joseph muttered while pulling out his notebook. He took notice of everything, even the smallest detail while he examined her body. “Same cut… I’d even bet that the killer used the same knife on her…” His sharp eyes picked up on the shifted snow around her arms and he guessed that she struggled and writhed there before succumbing to death. Her fingers on her right hand were even bloodied from trying to stem the flow of blood from her neck.

While he stood up, Sebastian’s vehicle entered the parking lot and he watched his partner throw himself out into the cold air. Joseph’s eyes lingered on Sebastian’s growing beard before he motioned to the body while pulling his gaze away. The older detective sucked in a breath through clenched teeth while he hovered over the woman’s form. “Damn.” He grunted, narrowing those amber eyes and frowning deeply. “We’ve got to find this guy…”

“Kidman has a list of known butcheries that also cut seafood. I was going to pay every establishment a little visit and question the owners but…” Dark eyes flickered to their fifth victim and Sebastian nodded in understanding.

“Maybe we can let Kidman and Connelly handle this? She needs more personal practice in dealing with bodies and searching the crime scene for clues.” The taller man shoved his hands into his pockets and stared expectantly at Joseph.

The younger man had his doubts, but he glanced over towards the two in question and eventually nodded. “I think you have a point. I’ve already gave the body a good look over, and I doubt Kidman will miss any incriminating evidence. Plus Connelly has been at this quite a while…”

Sebastian couldn’t help but to grin proudly while Joseph relayed the new duties to the junior detective and they both watched the excited spark light up in her eyes. “I’ll meet you guys at the station later then.” Julie promised before approaching the body freely once more.

When they walked back to their respective vehicles, Joseph gave him a side eye and thinned his lips disapprovingly. “What?” Sebastian asked, bristling a little under the younger man’s gaze.

“You look like shit.” Joseph simply noted while thumbing the unlock button and opening the car door. The older detective tried to grin, but couldn’t force it enough to make it look realistic. After a moment Joseph sighed gently and shook his head. “I’m sorry Seb, you don’t look that bad… I just had a pretty shitty night.”

They stood there in silence for a moment before Sebastian rested a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder and rubbed his thumb into the woolen fabric comfortingly. “Hey, that’s okay. I had a rough night to.” Joseph glanced up into his eyes for any signs of lying before his lips quirked up into an understanding smile. “Listen, let’s stop by the station, grab that list and cup of coffee and we can haul around in my car, alright?”

“Alright.” His partner nodded and Sebastian gave his shoulder another squeeze before closing the door behind Joseph as the man slid into the driver’s seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, this was a long chapter. Took me all day to write, sorry for the delay!  
> Added some Myra and Seb for some little background hints...
> 
> I looked up Myra on TEW wiki and found out she looks like this: [[ http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141115233506/the-evil-within/images/2/23/TEW_Myra.jpg ]] Does anyone know where this picture was taken from? The official art book or the game?? :| 
> 
> Love to hear feedback!! :>


	7. Listen To Your Instincts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joseph and Sebastian make a rookie mistake under pressure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-edited again, whoops!  
> Two chapters today, yay!

Julie had compiled a rather large list, and Sebastian had to commend her effort, but Joseph decided that they didn’t have nearly enough time to talk to every one of those stores, so he’d started weeding out a few shops that were out of the question. He mapped out every place where a body was found and kept all butcheries that would be in reasonable distance of the ‘kill zone’.

“The killer is growing less cautious with their killing… see how they venture further and further outside of their comfort zone where we found the first two victims?” Joseph let his gloved finger tap the map pinned on the wall and Sebastian took the time to notice how many tack holes had been punched through the laminated map of Krimson. Each hole marked a murder of past and present. The thought was a little sickening, but it was the cold hard truth of living in a big city where crime rates could drastically escalate.

“So we have three lucky shops.” Sebastian muttered as he lifted the coffee cup to his lips. He still felt the lingering effects of getting only three hours of sleep, but he was hoping the shot of caffeine would aid in keeping him alert. The dark circles under his eyes were hard to ignore but Joseph hadn’t mentioned them yet and Sebastian guessed it was out of simple courtesy.

His partner sighed deeply and wrote down all three addresses in his notebook before slipping it into his pocket and nodding. “Let’s get a move on. Kidman should have some more information shortly, and I want to be able to report something to her as well. She looked… _distressed_ at the crime scene.”

“I’m not exactly shitting rainbows this morning either. I didn’t except the killer to make another move so soon. It’s a bad sign.” Sebastian handed Joseph his own cup of strong coffee and he glanced back up to the map marked with little blue thumb tacks for their case. Other detectives’ cases were marked in green, yellow and red.

It seemed like the reports from Beacon had inspired a few psychopaths to make their presence known.

-:-

“First is the worst, Jojo, just keep that in mind.” Sebastian muttered between puffs of smoke as they stalked out of the first butchery. It was clear the owners and their workers weren’t the killer. They were old and frail. Sebastian thought that if they even tried to run, they’d break a hip.

Joseph trudged behind him while muttering nervously under his breath. It suddenly felt like a clock was looming above them, counting down the hours until another body turned up. He took his glasses off as they slid into Sebastian’s car and thumbed some of the water droplets off them from the incoming rain that was quickly turning the snowy road to slush. His handkerchief was a deep silver color and it darkened wherever the water touched it. Soon the glasses were placed back on the bridge of his nose.

Sebastian put the car into a new gear to ensure they wouldn’t slip around too much, and pulled off the curb to find the next butchery. Joseph flipped open his notebook and read the address aloud before staring hard at it. “I’ve been here before.” He muttered softly, narrowing his eyes at the street name. “I used to buy my ham there every Christmas.”

After a few moments of silence, Sebastian glanced over and thinned his lips. He could tell that Joseph was thinking too hard again, almost like he was blaming himself for the victims’ deaths. His mouth opened, but words failed to reach him, so instead Sebastian carefully reached over and placed a hand palm down over Joseph’s knee silently. The younger man let out a shuddering breath and the tension eased out of his smaller frame.

-:-

Kidman pulled on a pair of forensic gloves and gently pulled open the victim’s car door. It was clean and the cold lingered inside from sitting there too long. Connelly peered in through a window and kept his hands to himself.

She carefully opened the glove box, and found a few gas receipts as well a cheese and cracker snack. Julie closed that compartment carefully before flipping open the driver’s side visor. Her heart clenched painfully at what she saw.

The victim was smiling and holding a little boy who couldn’t be older than seven, both of their faces framed by sunlight and the person taking the photo had accidently got their thumb into the photo.

After a moment of staring, she swallowed and put the visor back up. This was one of the many sides of her job that she’d rather ignore. Family and grieving. Bloodshed and gore. It was all another part of being on the force.

Connelly’s eyes lowered sympathetically as he thought about the victim’s family. Julie stood up and moved over to one of the back doors before pulling it open, she didn’t have time to grieve over a stranger quite yet. On the seat was a little calendar booklet with kittens stamped all over it. The junior detective picked it up and opened it to the newest entry.

‘ _Jake’s birthday is this week. Pick up cake from bakery downtown and a salmon from the butchery_.’

Julie hurriedly spun around to face Oscar. “I knew we were onto something last night! The victim noted that she went to a butcher’s shop to pick up fish. We should call Joseph and Sebastian.”

Connelly was already reaching for his phone and they both crowded it as he put it onto speaker.

 _“Hello?”_ Joseph’s calm voice drifted through the speakers on the second ring.

“I found her daily planner – she went to some butchery the day she was killed.” Julie informed a bit breathlessly, feeling a sudden spike settle in her stomach at the thought of the killer stalking their victims – which could very well be their customers.

 _“Good work – did she write any indication of the address?”_ He asked hurriedly, his voice getting a little bit louder through the speakers. They had Joseph’s complete attention now.

“Unfortunately, no… but she did write that she went to a bakery downtown. Perhaps the butchery was close by?” Julie skimmed over the note once more and thinned her lips before her eyes trailed to the black bag that was currently obstructing their view of victim five.

 _“Seb, go to the address that’s downtown instead. We’ve got a good lead… listen, we’re on the way to the butchery on the corner of fifth and seventh, it’s downtown and in a good kill-zone range. We’ll meet you two there. Excellent work Kidman.”_ Joseph waited for their conformation before hanging up and Oscar smirked at the slight blush that settled on Julie’s cheeks at the rare praise from Joseph.

-:-

The butchery downtown made a primal side of Sebastian wary, almost like there was a bad air to the whole place but he forced himself to follow Joseph’s strong lead as he entered the empty store. His inner wolf didn’t like doing so and he could smell an overwhelming amount of raw meat and a few rotten slices as well.

This place needed a health inspection, and fast. His amber eyes flickered over the prices of the meat on ice through the glass display case. Cheap. No surprise given the condition of the butchery. The tiles on the ground were dirtied and the walls had smoke residue clinging to them.

The woman behind the counter smiled at them as they entered. “Welcome! What can I get for you two gentlemen?” She asked with a rather forced ring to her voice. Overly cheery. Sebastian simply stared at her and Joseph gestured to the badge on his harness before flipping open his wallet to flash his police identification.

“Detective Oda, we’d like to speak with the owner of this establishment. Is that you?” The wallet disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and the woman looked a little startled.

“U-Uh – yes, please give me a moment…” She nervously backed away from the counter and then went into a back room for a few moments; Sebastian desperately wished they had people posted outside the butchery in case somebody tried to run. His fears were proved false because the door opened and a large man now exited, tailed closely by the woman from before.

Sebastian felt himself become a dwarf compared to the man, and his inner wolf bristled even more, baring its fangs inside his heart and tensing for the worst. Joseph didn’t seem fazed by his sheer size and instead squared his shoulders stubbornly. “You’re the owner then?”

“Yes.” The man curtly replied, looking over them both and then carefully walking out from behind the counter. He wore a blood stained apron and his knuckles were cut up from years and years of brutal meat slicing. The large man’s hair was greying and receding, and his piercing grey eyes stared at them both like they were some sort of unwanted sickness.

“Good.” Joseph stood his ground and Sebastian took a step closer to his partner protectively without even realizing it. “We’re investigating a series of murders that have been committed close by. It would be greatly appreciated if you’d let us have a look around here just for a few minutes, mister…?”

“Mister Jones.” The man informed with a slight incline of the head, and then he crossed his large arms while pursing his lips tightly together. “Do you have a warrant?”

“Nice to meet you, Mister Jones… and no. We could get one though, and have more police officers come with us as we investigate…” Joseph narrowed his dark eyes just slightly and regarded the man with a sort of foolish bravery that came with STEM. “Do you have something to hide, other than bad meat and sanitary habits? I could call the health inspectors if you’d rather?” His words were cutting deep and Mister Jones shifted uncomfortably. Sebastian had to control his snickering smile. Leave it to Joseph to speak a brutal truth to get what he wanted. He’d been on the receiving end of a tongue lashing more than once, and it never failed to leave him feeling foolish and embarrassed.

Their suspect took a deep breath and then a step back before answering. “Fine. Let’s get this over with…” He waved to the counter and the hallways that trailed behind it. Sebastian and Joseph followed closely behind Mister Jones and the woman nervously bit her finger as they passed by her safe spot behind the counter.

A small part of Sebastian’s mind screamed that this was a _bad idea_ , and he wondered if Joseph was feeling the same thing. Even if he was, Sebastian wasn’t about to wait for their backup to arrive and leave his partner with a mountain of a man.

Joseph was smart and skilled, but now was not the time for a show of brains over brawns. They could already get into trouble with the whole warrant business, and the Chief was going to kick both their asses if she ever found out.

The large man lead them in through the main hallway and Sebastian’s eyebrows knitted together as he felt some of his instincts kick into overdrive. A prickling sensation ate its way up his spine and Sebastian had no choice but to listen to his inner wolf. He hardly had enough time to turn around before the crudely fashioned club smacked him right in the temple and sent him reeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUNN, suspense?  
> Rookie mistakes will be their downfall. If they had both gotten the right amount of sleep they wouldn't be so foolish.
> 
> Feedback always appreciated! :)


	8. An Even Number...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from bad to worse and Sebastian can't quite cope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at like, 2:30 in the morning.  
> Not beta-ed and I'm super sorry for any errors.  
> This chapter has slight gore so just a heads up.

His vision swam and bleed black around the edges as his head throbbed painfully. As he crouched down to hold his head, Sebastian could dimly hear a ruckus of struggle behind him and he tried to force himself to his feet, but the woman hit him again and sent him sprawling to the ground with a vicious snarl.

The struggle faded out into a few garbled shouts that Sebastian couldn’t make out over the sound of his own throbbing heartbeat echoing in his ears before retreating footsteps bounded throughout the hallway. The small woman had yet to move, and she was staring at him as if in shock.

With a little snarl, he pulled his fingers away from the offending wound and found them to be slick with a little bit of blood. The sight and the coopery smell was enough to send his inner wolf into a defensive frenzy.

He heard one of the woman’s heels make an eerie clacking sound as she took a step back, and with a growl that bordered on a frenzied laugh, his hand shot out and clutched around on her ankle. As his grip secured, she started to panic and with an angered growl, he wrenched his hand back and threw the woman off balance as he pulled her foot out from under her. “That was a big mistake,” Sebastian spat as he watched her fall to the ground flat on her back.

All the air left her lungs and she gasped like a fish out of water for a few moments, giving Sebastian enough time to pull himself to his feet and gather his bearings. She stared up at him with fearful eyes and he reached for the cuffs that he kept pinned to his belt while carefully toeing the club out of her reach.

“Give me your hands, or I’ll make things very unpleasant for you. You’ve just assaulted a police officer.” He warned, eyes flickering to a deeper gold that seemed to glow in the dimly lit hallway. When she didn’t move, he narrowed his eyes and lifted his leg threateningly. The simple movement was enough to make her start whimpering pleads while holding her hands out for him.

Sebastian roughly forced her hands behind her back and cuffed them there before glancing back down the hallway and finding it to be distressingly barren. It meant one of two things, the man got Joseph, or his partner was giving chase. He hoped for the latter.

The woman was now starting to cry softly and he felt a sudden rush of uncontrolled anger seize his body. Without thinking, he grabbed her by the collar of the bloodied jacket and slammed her head against the wall. She stopped whimpering immediately and her body went limp.

It wasn’t enough to seriously hurt her, he hoped. But it would keep the woman put until Connelly and Kidman arrived. Sebastian gently eased her body to the ground and checked the growing bump on her head. She’d have one hell of a migraine when she woke up, no doubt.

Sebastian grabbed his handgun and carefully made his way down the hallway, his ears tuned into the reverberating sounds of the retreating footsteps so he could easily follow their path.

-:-

Joseph was surprised that the man could run so fast. He’d seen Sebastian get attacked out of the corner of his eyes and had just barely reacted quick enough to avoid getting punched in the face before their suspect took off running.

He regretted leaving his partner behind like that, but he was certain the man could handle the woman by himself, even if she’d gotten the advantage of surprise. Instead of thinking of the sickening sound Sebastian’s head had made under the force of the blow, he put all his effort into keeping up with Mister Jones.

The large man threw various objects in his way. Tipped over buckets of slimy left over meats from the butcher process and slammed each double door closed as he passed through them. Joseph had only slipped twice, his shoes leaving bloodied footprints wherever he went, the stench of rotting meat followed him and clung to his clothes.

A few freezer rooms showed a mixture of pig and cow carcasses hanging, and Joseph honestly half-expected there to be a human hanging on a hook in there as well. The thought disgusted him and reminded him of his close call with The Keeper, but he carefully gathered those thoughts and saved them for a later date.

Mister Jones shoved his way through a brown pair of metal double doors, the paint was chipping off them and the sudden bright light of day filtered through the darkened hallway as Joseph forced himself to throw his shoulder into the door while holding his gun with one hand.

The blast of sudden cold air stole his breath away but he still had enough sense to keep his guard up and only got clipped on the shoulder when Mister Jones surprised him by hiding behind the door and aiming for the detective’s face with his fist.

Joseph jumped back and felt his footing slide a little thanks to the rain. The alley they had burst out into was completely turned to mud and he had to balance himself awkwardly to stop from slipping. The larger man had weight to his advantage, and his wide feet planted firmly in the mud. Lifting his gun and keeping his distance, the smaller man made a reasonable order. “Hands in the air and get down on your knees!”

Jones took a step towards him but Joseph didn’t budge. He could see the chain link fence at the mouth of the alley, blocking any route of escape that way, and the detective wasn’t about to let such a prime suspect get away.

He couldn’t risk any more innocent lives.

The detective steeled himself against the brutal wind whipping around them and switched the safety off on his weapon to show he meant business. Jones stared hard at him for a few moments, chest heaving from the effort of fleeing. After a few tense seconds, the larger slowly lifted his hands and began to crouch down in the mud.

Joseph could hardly believe his eyes, and he let out a little nervous chuckle that was washed out by the wind. Jones stared hard at him and waited until the detective had taken a few testing steps towards him, gun still trained at him and his grey eyes stared harshly down the barrel.

“Don’t move.” Joseph ordered while keeping an eye on the suspect, a hand dropping down from the butt of his gun to instead pat at the side of his belt to locate his cuffs. A sudden flicker of movement caught his attention and the detective couldn’t move fast enough to avoid getting a handful of mud thrown into his face as Jones jumped up and grabbed onto his forearm.

Through the mud obscuring his vision, Joseph could see his shooting arm being bent subtly before he felt the pain flash up his side. Panicked now, the smaller man wasted no time in throwing a leg out and slamming his foot into Jones’ stomach. The man grunted in surprise and twisted his arm harder in response, which caused Joseph to fire a shot off right next to the larger man’s ear.

The ringing that blinded him caused Jones to stumble back and yell in pain as he clutched a palm over his permanently damaged ear. The ringing wouldn’t stop and Joseph took the moment to hug his agonized arm to his chest. He’d accidently dropped his gun after firing it, and it began to sink into the small mud puddle with a little hiss from the still warm barrel meeting the cool, thick brown substance.

With a snarl, Jones lunged at the detective again and they clashed with a series of shouts before slipping and landing in the mud. Joseph slammed his fist into the attacking man’s nose and heard it crunch before he felt the cartilage give way under his gloved fist. In retaliation, Joseph got a punched in the face so fiercely that it sent his glasses bounding off his face into the mud.

When Jones lifted his fist again to punch the disoriented detective, Joseph twisted his face into a snarl and sent his knee harshly into the man’s groin. The suspect let out a high pitched whine before hesitating and Joseph rewarded him with another punch to the face, this time right in the man’s eye. Howling in pain, Jones rolled off the squirming detective and Joseph hopped to his feet before putting some distance between the two of them.

His vision was blurred without the aid of his glasses, but he could still see basic shapes and he braced himself against a new attack when Jones came at him once more. Joseph turned his body to the side and took the punch that was aimed at his face right in his shoulder, and he could almost feel the bones shifting beneath his skin under the force of the blow.

The young detective sent his right elbow jabbing into Jones’ temple before following up with a strong left hook and it forced the larger man to back up once more. With a laugh, the suspect reached into the depths of his bloodied apron and pulled out a knife sheath. Jones sent the leather casing tumbling to the slippery ground underfoot and brandished a flash of silver.

Despite lacking his glasses, Joseph got the distinct sense that it was a knife. So his fears were confirmed, Jones was the killer. The detective suddenly thought that he deserved _to die_ for ruining so many families with senseless killings and he felt his blood boil in an unfamiliar way.

The killer came rushing at him once more and Joseph readied himself for the incoming blows he knew he’d have to the take in order to get the upper hand, when a loud bang of metal on brick suddenly assaulted both their ears. Joseph made the mistake of glancing over, and he barely got to see Sebastian kick open the door before he felt his wrist _crack_. Jones had taken the detective’s momentary surprise to his advantage and easily grabbed onto one of Joseph’s hands and twisted until he heard the sickening snap.

Joseph’s head swam with a sudden onslaught of agony, and he felt the man wrap an arm around his throat while the other hand kept his now possibly broken wrist held behind his back. Up this close to the blade, the detective could see that it was a fillet knife all along, and it would’ve been a great moment of deduction if the consequences hadn’t been so dire.

Jones was breathing heavily and Joseph could smell the blood that was rolling down his broken nose and a mixture of fat and slime from the animals he’d been chopping up earlier. It was not a pleasant and welcoming scent and the detective strained against his hold but was forced to go still when the blade pressed against the sensitive skin of his throat.

“Let him go. Now.” Sebastian’s voice was hardly recognizable, and Joseph could see his partner heaving and fighting against giving into the darker side of himself that only wished to rip the killer’s throat out and watch him bleed out just for fun.

“I can’t do that, detectives.” Jones tittered psychotically, shaking just slightly and pressing the blade more and more into Joseph’s neck. It was sharp enough that the slightest touch left little cuts in its wake and Joseph tried to get away from the sensations by forcing his head back.

“Drop your weapon.” The other man snarled, eyes flashing golden before he felt the sharp prick of his elongating fangs cutting his gums. His self-control was eroding away with the oncoming scent of Joseph’s blood.

“I’ve got to have an even number…” He whispered crazily, and that was the only warning both detectives got before he yanked the blade across Joseph’s throat.

Everything went slow in Sebastian’s stressed mind. He watched as the arc of blood spurted from his partner’s neck, chasing the movement of the blade as Jones wrenched his arm outwards and let Joseph collapse against the muddy ground.

Sebastian doesn’t clearly remember pumping three .44 shots into the larger man’s chest cavity.

All he remembers is red and the wide, fearful look in Joseph’s eyes as he slowly realized what had happened. His warm hands pressed futilely against his partner’s throat and he’d never felt so damn _helpless_. The blood just leaked through his fingers and Joseph’s nauseating, wet draws for breaths only succeeded in making the detective spew more thick blood out of his mouth.

“No – No Joseph. Please, god – _stay with me_.” He rambled on feverishly as he squeezed harder and tried to stop the growing amounts of blood from leaving his younger partner’s body.

The next thing Sebastian remembers is Julie’s freezing and careful fingers clasping over his to aid in the hopeless attempt of keeping Joseph from bleeding out and Oscar’s voice floating above the wind as he shouted at the emergency operators through the phone.

The smell is so revolting that his inner wolf began panicking and he’d started mindlessly rambling to Joseph’s shaking body. “Jojo – oh fuck – keep breathing. It’ll be okay – yeah? Joseph – yeah – just fine.” Sebastian’s heart rate was spiking and a saner, safer part of his mind waited until his trauma was over.

He watched numbly while Joseph’s eyes rolled back and felt the slick leather of his partner’s gloves clasping weakly over his forearms. Sebastian dimly remembered Oscar kicking open the fence of the alley way and leading the paramedic’s to their position. Julie had to drag him away from Joseph’s unresponsive body and she sank down to her knees next to him and tried to get him to respond to anything.

Sebastian’s eyes were glazed over, and his body began rocking back and forth subtly while his gaze was trained at one object hidden in the mud.

Joseph’s glasses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH NO JOJO.
> 
> Feedback always welcomed. :>


	9. Silent Repercussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian's not doing so well; Oscar and Julie try to get the blood out of their minds and off their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is un-betaed, surprise surprise.

“Sebastian?” Julie’s voice wavered and went out of pitch to Sebastian’s hearing. Her concerned face hovered above his and he could feel the cold mud against his hair and smell a stomach churning amount of blood from Joseph’s body. “Sebas-” He blinked dumbly at her and felt his head throb from being clubbed earlier. Her fingers were wet and cold against his cheek and her curses were light and frantic as she saw blood oozing from his hairline. Sebastian dimly remembers Kidman shouting something towards Oscar before his vision finally kaleidoscoped and bled to black.

-:-

_“Sebastian – stay with me now.” Frantically, Myra keeps his head steady and thumbs the bleeding mark over his eyebrow worriedly. Her eyes are wide and terrified as she tries to keep the other detective from moving too much. “Can you hear me? Darling – I need you to talk to me, please.”_

_He tries to draw in a breath but his lungs won’t corporate, so his words of ‘I’m fine’ drawled out into a garbled moan that she couldn’t make out. Myra glances around the area and finds it to be distressingly empty. They were out of town, and the outskirts of Krimson’s lights could be seen dancing softly in the night sky as their car is a wreck in the ditch._

_Sebastian had been driving. He wasn’t drinking at all that night and they were on the way to go stargazing at the clear and crystal sky. With another groan, his body moves slowly against the dirt road and he can see springs first blades of grass out of the corner of his eyes. The scent of their destroyed engine spewing out oil and smoke is nearly suffocating and Sebastian watches while his lover cradles his jaw soothingly._

_He tried to narrow his brown eyes, but they remained wide and scared as Myra rambled on and on to herself. Sebastian couldn’t move his head at all on his own, and every time Myra released his jowls, it lolled to the side heavily. She slowly realizes that he’s stopped breathing normally, his lungs seizing up between breaths and leaving him with only a pathetic amount of oxygen to keep himself going._

_With a flustered growl, Myra strokes his cheek and feels his smooth skin underneath her palm. He’s cold and shaking and she knows that his neck has been broken._

_“No, I can’t lose you...” She rasps, tears pricking her eyes and leaving wet tracks across her kind features. Sebastian would have wiped them away if he could feel his arms. Myra carefully rips open his collar, listening as the fabric’s seams burst open when she reveals the smooth patch of skin over his collarbone._

_Sebastian stares at her with a blank expression, mouth slightly open and heart racing to pump the oxygen-depleted blood throughout his body. She can hear it pounding deep within his chest, and with another anguished cry she opens her mouth and lets loose a sound that the other detective could only describe as inhuman._

_He saw her elongated fangs when she pulled her lips back and Myra’s gentle gaze turn wild and golden before he felt her mouth sinking into the soft skin of his shoulder._

_Pain flashed from the bite and Sebastian only remembers his body burning when a new flood of antigen’s invaded his bloodstream. His immune system couldn’t make antibodies fast enough, and his vision swam as he threw an arm over her shoulders and let out a pained sob._

-:-

Julie stares hard down at her bloodied hands as she waits for any news on her two partners. Oscar is sitting heavily besides her, his face pale but his mind steadfast and waiting for the repercussions of what Kidman had experienced to make themselves known.

Finally, her resolve wavers after two silent hours and she chokes on her breath before clenching her hands into fists. Connelly presses his own muddied hands to her stained shoulder and helps her stand. Silently, he led her into the ladies bathroom and nobody questioned when he slipped in behind her. Oscar flicked on one of the many taps and holds Julie’s shaking hands under the water.

She watches while a mixture of dried blood and mud begins to wash down the drain and looks up at the mirror at their expressions. Oscar doesn’t look very well. His eyes are bagged with stress and exhaustion and he’s got stray streaks of mud on his face from trying to get Sebastian onto a new stretcher when the man suddenly had a seizure.

Her own reflection isn’t too appealing either. Her purple eyes are washed out and glazed over and she’s got a mixture of mud and tears on her pale skin. Closing her eyes, Kidman tries to get the images of Sebastian’s devastated expression and the blood seeping through her fingers while Joseph choked out of her mind.

Abruptly, Julie begins scrubbing her hands together fiercely. She _needed_ to get the blood off her. Oscar stared at her hands with a faraway look in his eyes.

It was just a waiting game now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaanddd we finally see how Seb became a werewolf.   
> If anyone's wondering why Sebastian's health rapidly deteriorated, he got clubbed right in the temple and then hit a second time. So that really can mess somebody up.   
> I plan to explain it more in-depth in later chapters.   
> Feedback welcomed and wanted! >:3


	10. Golden Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chief and her detectives get news on Sebastian and Joseph.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta-ed again!  
> As always.   
> Excuse those pesky errors.

The chief came to question them eventually, and found both her employees hunched over the chairs lining the hallways, fast asleep. Connelly had curled into himself, chin pressed snugly against his chest and clothes still damp with mud and rain. Kidman’s legs were slightly obstructing the hallway; her shoes were off and placed into a chair next to her as her head rested against the beat-cop’s arm. The heels were caked with mud and Oscar’s uniform was ruined from the knees down.

Pitying them, the chief merely allowed them to sleep and went to the main office to get some information on her two detectives. Joseph was still in surgery, and Sebastian had yet to wake up after seizing and passing out.

“How soon until the surgery is over?” She asked softly, glancing back towards the two sleeping workers and then to the nurse.

“The doctors didn’t say, sorry… we’re waiting for Mr. Castellanos to wake up.” The nurse handed over a clipboard of information when the chief flashed her badge. “He took a hard hit to the head and collapsed shortly afterwards. We’re keeping an eye on him for any internal bleeding…”

“And Detective Oda?” She asked, flipping to a new page and frowning at the quickly scrawled list of wounds.

“Broken wrist, and an opened jugular. He was in bad shape when he entered the hospital and was sent to surgery immediately.” Their gaze softens at the thought and the chief nods briefly. “My best wishes for everyone who was involved…”

“Thank you… can I take this?” She motioned to the clipboard and the nurse quickly nodded before watching the chief walk over to the sleeping cops. Her short heels clicked oddly against the thick tile of the hospital and she sat down heavily across from Kidman, looking over both of her employee’s restless expressions with a worried frown.

-:-

It took nearly four hours for Joseph’s surgery to be completed.

The doctors looked haggard and drained when they walked out of the operating room and the chief had to hold Julie back. The woman was sleepily excited. Her mind was still partly in shock and Kidman wanted to know what had happened the moment they stepped out.

After they’d all been crowded in a waiting room, the chief watched while Kidman paced back and forth and Oscar stared at the wall quietly. It was a little unnerving to see her team acting so oddly, but after what had happened, she could understand their behavior.

They were trying to cope with information that they had yet to receive.

After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened slowly and a surgeon slipped into the room. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun and she cradled a cup of coffee, though her eyes shown how tired she truly was. “Are you Mr. Oda’s family?”

“Not exactly.” The chief wasn’t about to have a run-around discussion about the man’s family, and she shuddered to think about calling the younger man’s sister. “Krimson City Chief of Police. This is Detective Kidman and Officer Connelly.” She showed her badge and let the doctor take it all in before continuing, “We just want to know how it went at this point…”

The doctor straightened a little in the chief’s presence and nodded. When the police got involved in a case like this, the surgeons had learned it was easier for everyone involved to just give the details the cops needed. “Doctor Wilson.” She introduced with a curt nod before sighing and bracing herself for all the questions she knew would be thrown her way. “The surgery was a success, but we’ll have to wait a few days to see how it actually is going to affect him. He lost a great deal of blood and it could have had a number of negative side effects.”

“Can we see him?” Kidman muttered softly, not quite meeting the doctor’s eyes and instead staring down at her socked feet.

Doctor Wilson shook her head. “Not yet. We have to monitor him and wait for a few hours. He probably won’t wake up for a few days, and this resting time is critical.” After seeing how Julie’s face fell, the doctor gave a soft touch of comfort to the other woman’s shoulders. “I’ll tell you when he’ll be ready for visitors, okay?”

Kidman merely nodded and sat down next to Oscar again. The man had yet to speak up and seemed to be silently absorbing all information flowing through the room. Taking a breath, the chief moved to stand; running a palm over her slacks and feeling an interesting wave of relieve wash through her body.

Joseph had survived the surgery.

A weight had been taken off her chest, and the chief nervously nodded. “Do you have any information on Detective Castellanos? He came in shortly after Detective Oda.”

“I’m not his primary care provider, but I can fetch Doctor Brewer for you.” Wilson waited until the chief nodded and then held out her hand. “This is not how anyone wants to meet, and my condolences for the situation. I never caught your name…”

“Amanda Barren, sorry for not introducing myself sooner.” The chief took the doctors hand in a handshake that was soft and kind. “Thank you for everything… we’ll see you soon again, doctor.”

With another nod and a whispering apology, Doctor Wilson slipped out the door and went to find her college.

Connelly finally cleared his throat and took his eyes off the wall. “He’s alive.” Was all he muttered before nodding to himself, and Amanda gave them both a sideways stare.

“Joseph’s just as stubborn as Sebastian.” The chief tried to smile but Julie’s wistful expression made it hard to. “Tough as nails those boys…” Amanda mumbled, and found herself pacing.

She’d known Sebastian since he was just a rookie officer, and had been immersed in many Oda family gatherings. The thoughts of them in such a critical state made her nervous and a bit lightheaded.

Softly muttering, Amanda repeated, “Tough as nails.”

-:-

Dr. Brewer frowned at his patient for a moment. Sebastian hadn’t so much as moved since arriving. The only indication that the man was actually still alive was his breathing.

Gently, he felt the detective’s heated forehead and narrowed his eyes. It seemed like the man was sicker than he was concussed. Brewer pulled a pen-flashlight out of his pocket, aiming to check Sebastian’s eye-response, but when he lifted the detective’s eyelids he nearly dropped the object.

Golden irises and smaller pupils, bloodshot thanks to the blow and not activated in any state of REM sleep cycle. The man was out cold.

“Christ!” He yanked his hand back and stared at his patient with an ample amount of fear and confusion. Eyes like that were not normal, and the doctor shuddered to think of the consequences.

The last time he’d seen another person with eyes like that, he’d been kidnapped and nearly killed for aiding her wounds.

“Doctor Brewer?” Wilson asked, knocking gently on the door as she entered. He jumped in surprise thanks to her silent approach and the woman inclined her head slightly with confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing.” He assured the younger doctor with a forced grin. “I sprained my wrist a few days ago, still feeling it.” Brewer turned to glance at Sebastian once more before excusing himself. “I’m going to make a call down to the nurses office, he’s got a fever.”

“Alright. A few people are down in waiting room 2A for you. I’ll see you later.” Doctor Wilson moved out the door and went down the long hallway to go check on her ICU patient. Brewer merely waved in response before fishing out his cell phone.

Brewer didn’t want to make the call, but the threats from the past made him anxious and he couldn’t risk missing his grand-daughters life. Swallowing thickly, he stood by Sebastian’s bed side and bit his lip before scrolling through his contacts. Once he’d found that out-of-state number, his thumb hovered over the call button.

“I’m sorry detective, but I’ve got no choice…” The doctor muttered before pressing the green button down. The owner of the other phone picked up on the second ring.

 _“Hello?”_ A bored male voice filtered through, and the doctor spared a glance to the sleeping detective before whispering.

“I’ve got a wolf here in the hospital.”

_“You’re sure?”_

“I’m positive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens...   
> Hints of Myra from Doctor Brewer and I'm introducing a new key player in this story.   
> Poor Seb just can't catch a lucky break. :P  
> Comments always appreciated!!


	11. Suspicions Of A Beat Cop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connelly has seen a lot of things in his life, but a crooked doctor was new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-edited!  
> Please ignore these errors.

If there was one thing Oscar hated doing, it was waiting.

The wall lost its interest and he instead turned his gaze to Kidman as the woman picked the dried mud off her heels while hovering over a trash can. Connelly silently stared at the chunks of mud that fell into the bin with small ‘pings’ before Julie deemed them clean enough and slipped the black stiletto’s back on.

He’s not entirely sure how women walk around in those things, but he’s always been cautious of anyone who could run normally in them. He’s seen the junior detective haul ass and kick ass in those heels, and Oscar had reminded himself a number of times to never get on Julie’s bad side.

The clock kept ticking on the wall and Oscar found himself thinking about the mud that now sat silently in the trash bin, and then back to the crime scene from where the mud had originated. He remembers watching Julie and Sebastian clutch vainly at their partners neck, the paramedic’s surprise when they saw Mister Jones’ dead weight and then the way Sebastian’s body had jolted like he was touching a live-wire before he went shockingly still like Joseph.

He’d never seen somebody have a seizure up close like that. He’s seen them from afar, over concerned people’s shoulders, but it was different to watch his friend writhe and jerk in the mud like a dying animal.

Connelly thinks that somewhere, in a small and ignored part of his mind, he’ll need some other sort of counseling after watching Joseph nearly bleed out.

It had given him some sort of sick satisfaction to see the killer laying there face up in the mud, dead and cold like the falling rain. The bleeding bullet entry wounds that peppered his chest were hard to ignore, and the mixture of blood trailing from his lips and shattered nose gave Oscar peace of mind.

Joseph fought like hell right up until getting his throat slit by that bastard. The detective had landed multiple good hits before Sebastian brutally finished the job.

Some would call three shots excessive force, but Connelly thought that the killer deserved to suffer. Jerking slightly at that sudden realization, Oscar nearly spilt coffee all over his lap and regretted not grabbing a lid for his cup. Amanda sent him a curious but concerned look and the man simply shook his head in reply.

Thoughts like that, like watching a killer suffer and writhe in pain, had never happened until Beacon. Oscar was sure that those odd memories had jostled some part of him, a saner part of his mind had been splintered when he watched through a body that he couldn’t control as Sebastian drew his gun and after a few begs, shot him right between the eyes in the STEM world.

Swallowing, Connelly felt like some fresh air would be good right about now and as he rose up from his seat, the door finally opened and an older gentleman, who he assumed to be Sebastian’s doctor, slipped into their waiting room. He forced himself to sit back down and watched while the chief and Julie descended upon the tired looking man with a few questions.

He learned that his name was Doctor Brewer, and that Sebastian had yet to wake up. The news didn’t startle him too much. Oscar had seen the club and the bleeding indentation in Sebastian’s head before the older detective had seized up on them. He expected the man to go into a deep slumber at the very least.

What bothered him was that nervous tremor in his voice and the constant hand movements the doctor was exhibiting. At first, Oscar had blamed the obvious lack of sleep each doctor must face, but as the seconds ticked by, the beat cop realized that there was no way that stutter in speech was from fatigue.

Narrowing his hazel eyes, Connelly let a few of Joseph’s wise words from the past come to mind.

_“Whenever a suspect starts nervously tripping over their words, it means they’re most likely hiding something.” Joseph noted offhandedly while they watched Sebastian interrogate a man from behind the two-way glass._

_“Huh?” Connelly glanced away from the suspect’s startled face as Sebastian slammed a hand down on the table and shouted something at them. His eyes lingered on the newest detective to join the Krimson City Police Force._

_The young man grinned at him. “Suspicious and jerky movements are a good sign as well. Most people don’t work well under intense pressure and they start to crack around the edges.” Joseph shook his head while crossing his arms. After a moment of dumb staring from Oscar, the young detective helpfully supplied, “I wanted to be a profiler at first.”_

_“A profiler? Why in the world would you want to do that?” Oscar couldn’t stand trying to get to know a suspect, and he was rarely used in extracting information. Sebastian and Myra were good at squeezing a suspect until they popped; he was just good at bringing them into the lion’s den._

“ _Too many cop shows as a kid, you know? The profilers were always nice and had an easier job… turned out I didn’t have the patience for that… and neither does Sebastian!” The man hurriedly rushed from the room when his partner reached across the table and suddenly slammed the suspects face into the metal table top and Joseph burst into the room a few seconds to chastise the older man’s rash actions._

Blinking slowly, Oscar stood up once more when it seemed like Doctor Brewer and his colleges were done talking and he waited a few moments before moving towards the door. “Where are you going?” Julie asked, her voice a little strained with worry as she thought about the possible trauma Sebastian had encountered.

“The restroom.” Connelly shrugged while he easily lied and both women nodded in understanding before the chief hesitantly began asking small questions about the case to get Julie to open up more. The door clicked closed behind him and he barely looked up in time to see Brewer make a left down the hallway.

Silently, Oscar followed close behind and made sure he wouldn’t be seen.

-:-

“I’ll meet you down by the back entrance where the ambulances come in, okay?” The doctor was making a private phone call near a bank of elevators and Connelly wasn’t close enough to hear the person on the other end of the line respond. “He’s on the second floor, yes. Listen, I don’t care what you do, okay? I don’t even want to be involved…” Brewer pushed the button for ‘going down’ on the elevator and Oscar waited until those silver doors slid closed before slipping around the corner and checking the walls for any indication that he was on the second floor.

While he walked by a series of doors, Connelly spotted a crest with _KCPD_ stamped on it in red hanging from a door. Awkwardly, he quietly and quickly slipped into the room while praying that it was Sebastian’s.

“Thank you.” He exhaled silently while he muttered to any entity that was listening. Sebastian laid there on the bed under a thin white cover and his clothes were neatly folded in a plastic bag marked ‘EVIDENCE’ by the window sill. Connelly carefully approached his currently sleeping friend and tried to get a good look at Sebastian’s current injuries, but a bandage fastened tightly across the detective’s skull obstructed his view.

Instead, the officer went about locating Sebastian’s badge and weapon harness, both of which he finds placed carelessly on a chair shoved up into the corner. Sebastian heaves a rather heavy and pained breath, and it catches Oscar’s attention, the man silently hoping that his friend would finally wake up.

He wanted to tell Sebastian that Joseph had survived. Sebastian had looked so devastated after the paramedic’s rushed off with his partner and left them all sitting there in the mud in silent grieving.

When no further indication of Sebastian waking up was given, Connelly wasted no time in picking up the man’s badge and his wallet for safekeeping. Time with a paranoid father had taught him to never leave personal and cared for belongings out in public too long.

“Right this way.” The doctor’s whispering voice echoed through the hall and Connelly realized he’d left the door slightly cracked; it seemed like some sort of God was smiling on them all today. After frantically glancing around for a hiding spot, Oscar slipped into the ensuite bathroom and now found himself peeking through the crack desperately.

The door opened and the doctor motioned for a man to enter into Sebastian’s room. He was obviously older, and Connelly could see his hair greying around the edges but he still seemed physically fit. Doctor Brewer didn’t follow and instead silently made his way down the hall as if nothing had happened, Oscar listened until the man’s heavy footsteps echoed away.

The stranger wore nothing that would suggest gang activity, and his shoes were clean and soundless against the tile as he approached the sleeping detective. Sebastian didn’t stir as the man hovered above him and seemed to be studying his sleeping face like a scientist would examine a body. Connelly didn’t like the anxiety that curled in his stomach and threaded through his veins.

He had to control his breathing when the stranger stealthily reached into his pocket and pulled out an elongated object that looked smooth and well-worn. Connelly knew what it was the moment he saw the black handle, and he silently pushed the door open when the blade sprung from its casing.

Oscar had never particularly liked his short stature. He felt like a midget compared to Sebastian’s six feet and he was even shorter than Julie with his measly five feet and seven inches, but in terms of speed, Connelly was known to be the man to run down any and all suspects. He praised himself on his ability to jump and climb fences and always tried to push himself to run longer and harder each morning as he took his dog for a walk around the park.

He was certain he surprised the shit out of the stranger when he came flying out of nowhere and punched the man hard enough in the chin to chip teeth and leave Connelly with bruised knuckles.

However, Oscar wasn’t expecting the man to retaliate so suddenly and be so freaking tall up close. His momentarily instant of triumph had ended when he’d gotten bashed in the face with an elbow and pushed into the wall. Nose bleeding profusely and throbbing in agony, Connelly panicked and drew his hand back, but instead of curling his fingers into a fist, he stabbed the man in the eye with his pointer finger. The stranger let out an anguished howl and stepped back, giving Oscar just enough time to take two steps back before he saw the flash of the switchblade.

Connelly had to give the man kudo’s for being so damn pain-resistant to his bloodshot eye and instead focusing on shoving that blade as deep as it would go right into the officer’s stomach. He let out a breath of surprised pain as he felt warm blood dye his blue uniform and suddenly found himself slammed against the far wall with a large and chilled hand to his throat.

While the stranger set out on squeezing his airway closed, Oscar began valiantly kicking to buy himself some much needed space and time. His foot managed to land on the tray table by Sebastian’s bed side, and he sent it to the floor with a clatter of broken glass and new lilies.

The sudden sound seemed to rouse Sebastian from his hibernation, because as Oscar’s vision swam to black, he saw a flicker of golden eyes opening when the detective pulled himself from the bed stiffly and slowly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Connelly what are you doing you poor short man? Oh well, kick his ass buddy!
> 
> Somebody woke up the Alpha Wolf and Sebastian doesn't take kindly to strangers choking his friends. 
> 
> Feedback always welcomed!


	12. A Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian lays down a warning to anyone with the right mindset to listen, and Oscar thinks he's had a little too much for one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta-ed and rather rushed!  
> Sorry for those errors.

“ _What do you think you’re doing_?” Sebastian’s voice wasn’t even recognizable over the rough scratch of a growl tearing up his throat and Connelly hardly registered the pressure releasing slightly around his throat.

When one of Sebastian’s large hands landed heavily on the strangers shoulder, Oscar could feel the jump his attacker gave. Out of the corner of his eye, Connelly noticed the sharp indentations of claws digging into the older man’s shoulder. It took him a moment to realize that Sebastian normally didn’t have nails that long, or that thick; actually they looked more like claws but the officer had to chalk it up as being oxygen-deprived.

“ _Let him go._ ” The detective breathes down the strangers back and his lips curl back into a silent snarl due to the wafting aroma of Connelly’s blood dripping slowly around the switchblade still pressed into the officer’s stomach.

Sebastian can feel himself slipping very slowly out of control. A part of his mind was still suffering from the blow to his head, and he could feel his hearing bounce out of pitch between Oscar’s gasps for breaths, but the other, angrier side of his mind was simply feeling a mixture of bloodlust and guilt.

First Joseph’s blood had been splattered all over him, and now the trickle that was seeping into Connelly’s clothes was driving Sebastian into a more terrifying state; he wanted revenge.

And he’d get it.

With the detective breathing so heavily down his throat and the officer’s eyes starting to roll up, the stranger finally moved. With a grunt of pain from Oscar, the stranger wrenched the blade out of his gut and their cold hands dropped Connelly in a heap at their feet. Before Sebastian could bash the man’s head into the wall in retaliation for treating his friend so rudely, he suddenly felt a burning pain lash through his side and stumbled back a step; his head throbbing in pain from the sudden movements.

“ _The fuck_ -” Sebastian felt the wound inflicted against his side start to burn, and he bit back a startled cry.

Golden eyes landed on the bloodied blade and he bared his teeth in a feral display that didn’t seem to faze the stranger. He could feel his fangs lengthening and dropping down from his gums, his normal canines elongating to form those of an apex predator.

Somehow, this man _knew,_ and if that wasn’t bad enough, Sebastian realized this stranger was sent here to kill him. Narrowing his glowing eyes, the detective let his fingers curl into thick claws while he took a lumbering step toward the man who was now backing up very slowly.

He didn’t look so feisty now, and the thought made Sebastian grin to himself. “ _Not so tough now, are you?_ ” The wolf grunted, voice still grated with a deep and rattling growl that made his speech rumble and shake between every word. When the stranger didn’t answer, Sebastian simply clenched his hands and stood over Oscar’s motionless body.

The detective could still hear the officer’s pained gasps, and he knew his friend had to be suffering and he internally chastised himself for not stopping it. The attack must’ve happened while he was still in deep slumber, and his eyes caught a glimpse of the shattered vase next to his bed. Connelly and the stranger must’ve knocked it over in their brief struggle, and Sebastian knew from experience that Oscar was a well-noted foe. Seeing how quickly the man had stabbed and began to choke his fellow officer made Sebastian aware of one thing: whoever this man was, he wasn’t the average Joe and this realization sent the detective on edge.

“ _Who are you?_ ” Sebastian snarled, not moving from his wide stance by Oscar and instead choosing to let the man come at him. His head still ached and throbbed and movements that were too fast caused his vision to blur around the edges. Sebastian knew he’d have to pace himself for this little throw-down.

No answer was given, and it didn’t evoke any surprise from the detective, but it did cause a flare of anger to rise up his throat in the form of another growl. Connelly gave a little groan below him and shifted, trying to collect as much air as he could while clutching at his bruising throat. The officer heard those quick paced footfalls and blearily looked up in time to see the stranger coming back towards them with the same knife from before, and Oscar felt a twang of agony ripple up his side at the sight of the bloodied blade.

Sebastian took a step towards their attacker and spread his fingers out widely, when suddenly the man rushed forwards with the knife poised at his side. A slash and an attempted stab left Sebastian with a deep gouge in his forearm and blood on his newly formed claws. The wound hissed and bubbled painfully, making the wolf cringes in disgust but shift his weight onto one leg while he mentally prepared for the next attack.

Already, Sebastian could feel the slight graze he’d suffered earlier starting to close up. Silver was a good weapon against any wolf, if an opponent knew how to use it properly; apparently, his current adversary wasn’t well versed in fighting tactics and Sebastian watched while the stranger clutched at the large gash across his shoulder.

He was sloppy once actually encountered, and it was clear to the detective that this man was used for assassinations and not actual brutal combat. Whoever sent this stranger thought that he would be an easily subdued target, and that thought ticked Sebastian off.

He may be older, but it didn’t mean he was suddenly out of his prime. Wolves didn’t age in nearly the same way as a human does, and Sebastian snarled silently as he stalked slowly towards the tall stranger.

Foolishly, the man came at him again and Sebastian had to wonder what he was hoping to accomplish with that stupid silver knife. He assumed the man was going to either stab his throat or attempt to reach his heart while Sebastian was asleep, but now that little blade was simply laughable.

Sebastian curled his hand into a fist and backhanded his attacker once the man was close enough, and when the man tipped over due to the sheer force of the blow, Sebastian followed him down to finish the job. Before he could claw the stranger’s eyes out, he got that blade shoved right into his palm with enough force to make him hiss and growl in pain. “ _That fuckin’ hurt,_ ” He barked out loudly before using his other hand to bash the man’s already bruised face in. The crunch gave him satisfaction, but before he could give any more slams with the butt of his palm, Connelly gave a rather loud cough and drew his attention merely out of worry.

“D-Don’t kill ‘em…” Oscar rasped, sitting up slowly and keeping one hand at his throat protectively. Sebastian merely let his face twitch in response before fisting his hand in the stunned stranger’s shirt collar and pulling him up into a semi-sitting position.

Connelly watched from his spot on the floor while Sebastian slammed the man into the tiled floor, hearing the grotesque crunch of the man’s skull hitting the floor a few times until Sebastian deemed him sufficiently knocked out. After a few tense moments of silence, Sebastian turned his head towards the door when he began to hear a nervous shuffle of approaching nurses and he realized a little too late that he was, currently, in a hospital.

“Shit.” Sebastian’s voice slowly went back to its normal gravelly pitch, before he felt his head swim and in response he swayed a little on the spot. Suddenly everything hurt. His side, his arm, his palm and his head all taunted him playfully while he stumbled back and collapsed against the bed.

“Play it calm – just pretend to sleep.” Oscar grunted, dragging himself to his feet and leaning against the wall while he clutched a hand over the bleeding wound on his side. “Can’t have you running around in patient robes.” The officer snickered before shuffling his way towards the door to meet the worried nurses that all rushed in.

Sebastian forced himself to settle back on the bed, trying to keep all his wounds under the covers and resist the urge to peek as a few nurses shrieked at the man lying in his room and Connelly’s bleeding side. After a few stressful moments, he felt himself slipping away into the welcoming embrace of sleep.

“My name is Officer Connelly and you should… should get my partner Detective Kidman and Amanda Bar-ren – oh,” Oscar had severely underestimated his wounds. The scuffle didn’t last long, but the stab wound was bleeding and his throat was tight and bruised, plus the back of his head ached like no other the more he continued to explain the situation to the terrified nurses and doctors that came crowding around the hall.

When Kidman rounded the corner and their eyes met, Oscar had never been so happy to hear her heels against the tile before he finally let himself take a little break. The nurses all tried to keep him standing when he promptly collapsed against the floor, but Julie shoved her way through with ringing barks of, “Can’t you see he’s injured? Go get help – he’s bleeding!”

When they didn’t scatter, Kidman shouted something akin to “Last warning” before they all went scrambling off to fetch proper, sterilized aid. He sleepily clutched at her worrying hands as she crouched down to aid him and tried to smile but it probably looked more worrying paired with a pained groan. “Oscar, are you okay?” She hissed, trying to get a good look at the extent of his injuries.

“Never been better,” He slurred oddly before blinking and narrowing his confused gaze. “Listen – that… doctor – he’s tryin’ to kill… Sebastian – I swear – he _called him_ …” Each stuttering word was spaced out with a gasping draw for breath before Connelly promptly rested his forehead against her knee and passed out. She gave a little worried cry and maneuvered her friend into a more comfortable position there on the floor while trying to brush his short hair back into its original position as she rested his head in her lap.

“Oscar, you _fucking idiot_.” She muttered with fake aggression while trying to peek into the dimmed room. Julie’s eyes widened just slightly when she saw a man lying crumpled in the middle of the room and Sebastian fast asleep on the bed like nothing strange had occurred.

While her worried lavender gaze wandered back over to Connelly and his wounds, careful and cautious fingers danced along the purpling flesh of his neck before she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Castellanos’ sleeping form.

How could the man possibly sleep through Oscar taking a beating and warring with a stranger in the same room?

Maybe she hadn’t realized the full extent of her partner’s wounds…

A whole plethora of questions rose to her mind ranging from motive to identity but when Amanda’s worried footsteps echoed down the hall, she simply looked up and reflected once more on Oscar’s odd words before something clicked inside of her mind.

“Where’s Doctor Brewer? I have reason to believe that he should be put under arrest.” Julie said sternly, nearly forgetting who she was talking to, but the chief simply took in the scene before nodding and hurrying between the nurses approaching Connelly’s beaten frame.

The junior detective watched her boss vanish down the hallway and she bit her lip painfully before glancing back down to her friend’s slack expression.

“Oscar, you better not be delusional or _I swear to God_ …” Without much of a struggle, Kidman let herself be removed from the situation as nurses moved the man onto a bed and then hurried him off into a new room.

Sebastian’s door was still standing wide open and under the premise of collecting evidence; she invited herself in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I'm super tired and sick right now. Uhg... x-x
> 
> It's lame(I know!), but Seb wasn't in the mood to have a little game of kill or be killed. Tired werewolves lazily phase claws and beat their prey into submission.  
> Young officers collapse with exhaustion after a hard week and a hard beating. Worried friends chastise and grow suspicious of detectives who sleep through a fight...
> 
> Comments are appreciated! Love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter. :'>


	13. I'll Need A Statement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian wakes up, and Julie is there to greet him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously Un-betaed.

Julie kept the door cracked behind her as she slipped into the dimmed room. Her eyes trailed over to Sebastian’s motionless body, but the man’s heavy breathing indicated that he was alright and in some sort of deep sleep. Curiously, she crept closer towards the older detective, mindful of the shattered vase and the bloodied knife tossed carelessly aside.

Sebastian still hadn’t stirred. His eyelids were lightly closed and he looked very relaxed in this state. If it wasn’t for the bruising wound on his face, or the overshadow of a two-day old beard lingering on his skin, Julie would have considered him to be extremely happy again.

She’d heard that Sebastian was once a very lively man. Animated, some would even say while other, ruder cops would mutter something along the lines of ‘hotshot’. He quickly climbed up the ladder of the ranks. From lowly street cop to a detective, Kidman heard a rumor that he was even offered a job as a lieutenant but he passed down that job to stay closer to his wife.

Sebastian was a loyal man, steadfast and headstrong. She admired that about him and sometimes had a hard time of catching the man in a different light. Kidman could once only see the detective as an alcoholic that would stand by his job and his friends with a bloodied fist and swear that it was all ‘okay’. Sebastian was also a rude, overbearing and an aggressive man at times. Julie couldn’t stand by while he pummeled any stray unlucky person who tried to run from the police and she was appalled that Joseph only stepped in when he deemed it ‘necessary.’

However, since STEM, they’d all mellowed down. Cases that would take others weeks to solve took them a matter of days. Joseph and Sebastian had let her weave into the complex fabric of their working life. They worked with each other instead of around each other now, and even Connelly was taking a fair slice of the cake. She’d been welcomed into their working life with open arms, and was slowly starting to make headway into their personal lives.

Turning her gaze away from her partner’s scarred face, Kidman noticed something extremely odd. His IV wasn’t in its rightful place. Instead of resting snugly under his skin and keeping his body fed with some sort of fluid, it was dangling limply by the bed. The original puncture mark in his skin was still there, as well as some clear and tight tape, so it indicated that at some point, Sebastian had the needle in him.

Glancing back around the room, she silently backed up to get a better look at the blade. It was thoroughly coated in blood, and Kidman’s mind replays the image of Connelly’s bleeding side. Stabbed, she suffices to herself before abruptly pausing and staring at the stranger in the middle of the room. He was bloodied too. Much more bloodied.

His face was bruising and his eyes were half-open, but they had a sort of faraway look to them that suggested he was unconscious. Crouching down silently by his side, Kidman let her hands hover over the wound on his shoulder. It looked like three, maybe four distinct cuts traveling diagonally towards the center of his chest. The wound was already congealing with blood and the smell makes her a little light-headed.

She’d had enough of that smell for one day.

Slowly, she stands back up and stares down at the man, memorizing every detail. He was older, probably mid-forties, and his brown hair was starting to grey around the edges. Wrinkles suggested a worried lifestyle, and his body was tall and capable. She tries to tack down any sort of old profession, and only comes up with something physical; army perhaps?

Frowning, she glances at the door and wonders when other law enforcement will show up. The man looked too messed up to move on her own, and Julie wouldn’t risk anymore damage to the stranger even if she did presume that he just stomped Connelly into the ground. She’d wait until doctors were able to give the man a thorough check over. Already, Julie knew the man would have to be put in custody while he was still in the hospital.

The thought makes her replay a memory she’d rather forget.

_“What happened in there?” A man in a suit asks her again, and Julie simply stares at the cuff wound tightly around her arm. She hadn’t said a word since waking up in the hospital. Her throat was still raw from previous shouting before she was sedated, and it angers her that she was treated so carelessly._

_They simply wanted to know what had happened in that disturbing hospital. They didn’t care about their officer’s mental states, and the woman was sure that they didn’t even care about all those poor people that littered the halls with their bodies and their blood. All part of some fucked up organization who wanted to know more and more about a human. Wanted to see what happens when you push somebody past their breaking point._

_Sneering, Julie let her hardened gaze land on the man. He looked like any other man that worked with the government. Nothing special. Tidy hair and a no-nonsense suit. His eyes were blank and unemotional as she gently pushed the call button on the side of her bed, signaling that she was done with this one-sided conversation._

_A nurse came to the door along with a doctor, and the man gave her a little glare before standing up once more and tipping his head into a gesture of farewell._

_She didn’t return it, and instead let her eyes trail back to the biting cold metal against her wrist._

“Detective Kidman?” A voice gently washed away that phantom feeling of pressure around her wrist, and she looked up quickly towards the source of the sound. The chief was standing there with her arms crossed and a subtly concerned look on her face.

“Yes?” Was all she could manage while she took a few steps back from the unconscious man on the ground.

“Doctor Brewer has already left the hospital.” Amanda gently works her way into the room and thins her lips as she takes in the damage. The stranger on the ground lets out a weak groan and both women stare at him for a moment before the chief smirks. “Looks like he’s still kicking. We’ll put him under custody. I already sent out a request for a warrant for our doctor. Wherever he is, he won’t get far.”

Kidman lets her smile answer for the chief before she sat carefully on the edge of Sebastian’s bed and took in a shuddering breath.

Amanda assumed that she was tired and worn down, worried and anxious. Her entire little team had gone down within twelve hours of each other. Kidman had the right to break down right now, but she mistook that edge in her gaze for exhaustion, when in reality it was _anger_.

-:-

Sebastian awoke when it was morning. The bright light filtered into his modest little room, which had been cleaned and mopped up for evidence. His light brown eyes fluttered opened and he let out a groan, his head still felt lingering pain, but his body had taken the time to heal itself slowly while he slept deeply.

Bruises and cuts had already morphed into fresh skin and scars.

One of the only downsides to a quickened immune system was the skipping steps. Instead of scabbing over and healing the skin, his body would simply start to rebuild new skin and it left the fresh flesh pinked and tender for a few weeks.

His gown was still bloodied as he sat up a little and he blinked the creeping darkness out of the corners of his eyes. With a careful breath, he reached up to touch his head wound, but when a shift to his left grated against his ears, Sebastian froze.

Was the man still here? Had he woke up and found himself still in the wounded wolf’s room? Had he come back to finish the job or was he-

“You’re up.” Julie whispered from her spot in the corner of the room, perched heavily in a chair. Sebastian swallowed and nodded silently, flinching slightly at the cracked and dry state of his throat.

The woman stared at him for a moment before reaching into a bag and pulling out a fresh bottle of water. It wasn’t chilled, and the lukewarm water felt odd against his heated palm. “Thanks.” He grunted when he’d finally taken a large sip from it. The plastic crunched a little in his hands when he squeezed it too hard.

They sat in silence for a while before Sebastian finally looked at her clearly. She’d changed clothes, is what he noticed first. Her normal white and black uniform was now replaced with a pair of tight jeans, a blue sweater and red heels. Kidman’s gaze was even sharper and more questioning when her hair was pulled back with the aid of a black headband.

Sebastian knew she wanted to ask about his current state. About the blood on his gown that was normally hidden and about the messy scene that had taken place in his room. He wondered how Connelly was fairing after that. Julie opened her lips and the detective prepared himself for a series of hard to answer questions, but instead she simply asked, “How are you feeling?”

After a moment he shrugged and pursed his lips. His head was clearing up the longer he was awake and he found that the sharp pain could be ignored if he focused on the pattern of the walls. “I’ve been better.” Sebastian finally answered and with a nervous click of the tongue, Julie stood up and walked over to the door.

She gently pushed it closed and crossed her arms while she stared at him. Sebastian frowned when he realized that she’d been picking up on the unique glaring technique the chief used to make his skin crawl guiltily.

Her heels made a soft clicking noise while she moved back to the chair. “Sebastian, what did you do?”

If he was in any other situation, it’d be easier to lie. But her purple eyes weren’t aloof anymore. They were trained and clearer since STEM. Kidman was going to be a great detective, probably even better than himself one day, Sebastian was sure of it.

With a little laugh, he sat up more and pushed his feet to the cool floor. “Not now, Kid. This isn’t the place to talk about it…”

She simply glared and he quickly moved his gaze to the floor. Finally, Julie cleared her throat and tossed something onto the bed. “I brought you the spare set of clothes you had down at the station.” His worn duffle was sitting precariously on the side of the bed and Sebastian drew it closer to himself with a grunt of thanks. “Oscar is fine. But the other man isn’t doing so well.”

He was suddenly reminded as to why he was even in the hospital in the first place and he snapped to attention while his fingers paused over the zipper of the duffle. Sebastian’s voice sounded so hollow when he asked the question. “And Joseph?”

Kidman little smile filled him with so much relief that it was almost intoxicating. “He survived the surgery. But they won’t know how Joseph has been affected until he wakes up…” Just like that, his solace was stolen from him once more.

Joseph must’ve been in pretty bad shape if he was still resting. Sebastian didn’t want to remember his gasping chokes and the slick feel of blood mingling with leather so he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and thought about the pain of silver against his skin instead.

“He’ll be fine.” Sebastian grunted stubbornly after a moment, and she moved to stand silently.

“I’ll give you a few minutes to get dressed then.” Julie whispered before making her way across the room. Sebastian nodded while her fingers paused on the door’s metal handle. “I need a report of what happened in this room, Sebastian. I know that Connelly couldn’t have bashed that man’s head in, he has problems with that since Chris… well, you know…” Her eyes landed on him once more and Sebastian didn’t flinch away this time even though he felt a little bit of a sting that came from the deceased officer’s name. “Knock when you’re ready.”

And with that, she left him sitting alone in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gave me a lot of grief again... :P (I honestly don't like this chapter ugh).  
> Also~You'll find out who this 'Chris' person was eventually. 
> 
> Comments and feedback are greatly appreciated! :'>


	14. Coffee And Cuffs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian reflects on Joseph and then his and Kidman's working relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-betaed.  
> Kind of another filler chapter?

Sebastian stood in the small hospital bathroom and stared at the short shower. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable shower, the nozzle was nearly level with his eyes and he realized he’d have to spend the majority of this shower crouching.

With a groan at the thought, the detective began pulling off the gown. He made sure the bathroom door was locked once more before he finally shed the annoying, pale green hospital grade gown off his body. It was bloodied in a few places, namely his side where the blade had split open his skin and Sebastian gently shoved the garment into the trash bin.

Without a second thought, he forced his large body into the crampingly small shower stall and went to work washing the dried blood off his skin. Sebastian’s nose wrinkled a little at the strong scent coming off the bar of soap placed there, and he turned it over to try and get a good glimpse of the company name that would be carved into it, but the bar was too washed out to give any evidence of the brand.

Washing his hair was done a little tenderly, and he hissed unhappily whenever he brushed against the bruised section of his skull. It would take a few more hours to heal completely, a day tops. After his body was fresh and clean, Sebastian took the time to bow his head against the wall and just close his eyes against the feeling of warm water pelting his skin.

The stream and the torrent of water was slowly working the tension out of his shoulders and the base of his neck. The detective sighed gently against the beige tile and let his mind wander a little.

Unsurprisingly, Sebastian thoughts went straight to Joseph.

His brows furrowed as he thought about his partner’s throat being split wide open all over again and it caused a deep growl to rumble out of his lips uncontrollably. If only he’d found them faster and stopped the fight. Maybe if he hadn’t kicked open the door Joseph wouldn’t have suffered like that.

Shame and guilt nipped at him and Sebastian forced his eyes open before clumsily shutting off the water. He stood there for a minute and just let some of the excess water drip off his body and down the drain.

Heaving a sigh, he finally exited the shower and reached for the glaringly white towel to pat dry his weathered skin. The warm fog from the short shower had clung to the mirror like mist, but Sebastian could see his reflection well enough to know he’d have to shave.

Mechanically, he began to pull his spare clothes out of the emergency duffle he kept tucked away under his desk. A small part of his mind questioned when Julie had ventured back to the station, but he was reminded that somebody had to write down something for the multitude of events that had taken place.

Two detectives and an officer down. A stranger found and a murderer shot to death.

Sebastian pulled the red button up over his shoulders and slowly worked the buttons closed before fixing the collar into a more breathable position. He wasn’t sure how Joseph was able to work with the tight and ironed collar and tie pressing against his skin so tightly, and again that sudden image of blood pooling over the fabric jolted his mind against his will.

-:-

By the time he’d knocked on the door to signal Julie that is was okay to come in, the woman was sure that he’d managed to somehow drown himself in the toilet at some point. When she pushed open the door, she was greeted to the sight of Sebastian ripping into the bag that contained his bloody clothes and searching through the remnants for one thing, cigarettes.

If she wasn’t dead on her feet and worrying over her friends, she would’ve yelled at him for messing with evidence. Instead, she watched numbly while he donned those muddied boots and triumphantly shoved the pack into his pants pocket.

After a moment of silence, he turned to face the junior detective with an odd and obviously forced smile on his face. “Let’s go outside for a while…” When Kidman didn’t answer and instead crossed her arms, Sebastian narrowed his eyes and muttered, “I’ll answer those questions when we get back.”

Her demeanor changed slowly into a half-smile, and she gestured out the open door before following behind the other detective as he shouldered his way through.

A few nurses saw him up and around and nervously fretted over his wellbeing, but Sebastian simply shrugged off their worried concerns and halting hands before quickly making a beeline for the exit once it was in sight.

Sebastian hadn’t realized how much he missed the fresh air until he was hit right in the face with a blast of whipping and chilled wind. His breathing evened out deeply as he pressed his face into the welcoming breeze.

He could smell rain, some frosting snow and exhaust carried throughout the wind. It was much better than the piss, medicine and blood he smelled so strongly inside the hospital.

-:-

Kidman walked besides him as they went around the block slowly, listening to Sebastian’s deep breathes between drags off a cigarette. At first, Sebastian thought he could get away with lying once they got back to the hospital, but Kidman was too sharp for that.

It almost made pride blossom in his chest. She’d quickly become a detective too be worried about. Joseph already knew about his little curse, but she didn’t and Sebastian wasn’t willing to risk both their lives to see her reaction.

If the time came, then he’d be forced to share his dark side with her and with a shudder, he hoped that he’d never have to suffer the surprised cries and fearful glances tossed his way. It took days for Joseph to look at him normally again, and weeks until he could actually work without distancing himself from Sebastian. A normal, healthy and human response.

No doubt Julie would act the same way if she ever found out.

“Listen, I’m sorry for kind of making you wait until we get back…” He started and deflated under her sharp gaze. “It’s my head; it’s not feeling so well.” Sebastian desperately tried to convince, trying and failing to appeal to her motherly side.

It was undeniably adorable that Kidman could go from pistol whipping a man to worrying over a burn on Oscar’s hand all in the same day.

_“Holy shit, Kid.” Sebastian muttered while he watched as the junior detective snorted and calmly placed her weapon back into its rightful holster. Kidman smiled at her partner before crouching down and placing cuffs on the groaning man._

_“He was asking for it.” Kidman answered while cinching those cuffs tighter around his wrists in a little bit of a mean streak just to watch the man squirm. Sebastian had to agree with her, the man was pushing drugs and obviously trying to take Kidman, who was undercover, for a ‘private ride’ in his car. The moment he touched her, she’d calmly broke out of her character and put the man back into his lowly place._

_Joseph roughly shoved the suspect into Connelly’s cruiser and then clapped his hands as if he was dusting off filth before locking the half-passed-out man into the vehicle from the outside. “This is why I don’t like working on drug busts. These guys are creeps.”_

_Sebastian and Julie both smirked at the other detective before going to their designated vehicles for the ride back to the station. All the while Sebastian had thought about who taught her to so smoothly crack a man’s skull open with the butt of her weapon, but then again, the woman’s past wasn’t known and she had obviously gone through extensive police training. They must’ve been teaching them the good tricks from the start._

_Joseph and Sebastian arrived shortly after Kidman and Connelly and when they entered the precinct both men couldn’t help but to stare dumbly at what they saw. Oscar was currently holding out his hand with a smug, and a little pained, expression plastered across his face while Julie was muttering angrily under her breath while she ran a few pieces of bandage between the man’s fingers and over his palm._

_“There,” She muttered before standing up straighter and looking at his gleeful expression. “Oscar, it’s not funny.”_

_“Oh, no, this is priceless.” Sebastian answered for the man as he draped his trench coat over the back of his chair and watched the two of them from across the room. “A badass and a nurse.”_

_“Yeah, well we’ve got a dipshit and a dumbass over here.” Kidman replied with a flush of embarrassment before whacking Oscar lightly behind the ears to shoo him away from her desk. The young officer puffed his chest out and grinned a little._

_“You mean a goodcop and a badcop, right?”_

_“Oscar, don’t make me hurt your other hand. And stay away from the coffee maker.”_

_Sebastian couldn’t help but to burst out laughing at the cause of such a burn and this time it was Connelly who snuck away in shame while Kidman grinned at his retreating form fondly._

He found himself pausing by a coffee shop, drawn in by the unique scent of grinding beans and creamer. Kidman glanced at him and then back around the chilly weather outside before nodding towards it. “Some coffee might help us warm up?” Her warm voice shown that she was indeed still worried about the older man, and that she could begrudgingly wait until they returned to those cramped and sterile walls of the hospital to discuss the series of events that had taken place.

Sebastian merely grunted in reply and they quickly crossed the street and slipped inside the place. It was rather empty, but a little bell jingled above them to announce their entrance. A small woman was perched on the stool behind the counter, and she grinned at them with her electric blue hair and dark makeup. “Hello.” She quipped, moving to stand and giving them a quick look over.

Julie was thankful to be out of the cold, and she quickly pulled her hands out of her coat pocket in favor of letting the warmth from the café warm her up. Curiously, she glanced over to Sebastian, who didn’t seem to be the slightest bit chilled.

She always found that a little odd about the man. No matter the weather, he was always radiating heat and rarely bothered by the cold. If anything, Sebastian had more trouble with extreme heat.

Julie shuffled her way up to the counter and was followed by the loud steps of Sebastian lingering behind her. “An almond and vanilla steamer, please. Twenty ounce.” The junior detective ordered and then glanced over to Sebastian who was waiting in line. “Come on, I’ll pay.”

“I can pay for myself.” The detective grunted as if he’d been wounded.

“Just order already so we can head back, okay? Nothing to get fussy about, you pay for me all the time in the morning.” She reasoned with a smirk at the way her partner was acting.

“That’s different. You buy the doughnuts. I just supply the coffee.” He countered, not moving from his spot behind her and even going so far to cross his arms.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before turning to the barista, who looked more than amused at this point. “He’d like a black coffee that’s half creamer and sugar, please.”

Sebastian’s huff of surprised outrage was undeniably worth the glare Kidman got afterwards, coupled with the embarrassed but appreciative, “Thanks, Kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is kind of slow and just... Idk, I really wanted to try and show a little of Seb's and Kidman's relationship. And I failed. x'D  
> IN OTHER NEWS. I've been hearing about everyone talking about an Inception!AU with The Evil Within and THAT IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE EVER.  
> So yes, I was just wondering if anyone would be interested in an AU like that?  
> An InceptionAU has to happen at some point... x'D  
> I mean... *shrug* I'm going to finish Scenting and Bite Marks FOR SURE, and I can see Myra being the perfect Mal and Seb being a good Dom... Plus Joseph would be the best point man~ ;3  
> Feedback/comments always welcomed!


	15. Let Him Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian finally visits Joseph.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really unbeta-ed, sorry... :|

It took nearly three restless days before the doctor’s finally announced that Joseph was ready for visitors. Sebastian and Connelly had concocted a story that was chalk full of loopholes for what had happened to the man, and stressed the fact that they were both sleep deprived and suffering when the events had taken place.

Oscar overheard Doctor Brewer making a phone call to their mysterious stranger, and had intervened to keep the detective safe. Unfortunately, he’d caused a bit of a stir and gotten wounded in the middle of the fight. Sebastian claimed that he was awakened by the breaking glass, and used their fighting to his advantage and bashed the man in the back of the head.

They had a hard time describing what had happened with those nasty and deep scratches across the suspect’s chest, but after some quick thinking, Oscar suggested that they were made from glass. Sebastian had gone along and described that the two of them had a brief struggle, and to get the upper hand, he’d slashed the stranger with the glass from the shattered vase. Then he proceeded to knock the man out.

It was a plan riddled with errors, but the questioning officers had let them slide by for now with the bare minimum, even if Julie did give them all a suspicious side glance. Besides, they were honestly more concerned with the events that had severely wounded Joseph and left five others dead.

Sebastian knew he’d have to eventually go back down to the station and write down many pages of a report alone. Joseph wouldn’t be able to help him with that for a long time. He wasn’t sure if he could actually sit down and write it all out, but the detective hopes that it’ll be therapeutic. Even thinking of the events leading up to that awful accident makes his stomach twitch with anxiety, and trying to picture the frantic movements of hopelessly attempting to stem the flow of blood made Sebastian make a beeline for any door for some fresh air.

Standing in the elevator on the way up to the ICU was probably one of the top ten most nerve-wracking things Sebastian has put himself through. It reached up into the top five where Myra was wounded, and then the time when she was giving birth and Sebastian had to wait to come back into the room because he’d passed right out when he caught sight of something both captivating and disgusting. He was pretty sure they used to have that moment on tape before the fire, and can distinctively remember Myra making him watch the two-dimensional version of himself go ass-over-teakettle in the small hospital bedroom.

Her teasing laugh still echoes in his ears and he fondly remembers the little pink bundle that was his daughter wrapped up in his arms as he sat beside his exhausted wife in the hospital. Lilly was quiet and breathing deeply as she stared at him with wide eyes that were so much like her mother’s before Myra nudged him gently and informed him that her mother had caught the entire show of him collapsing straight to the floor in the middle of a push.

_“You can look at a mangled corpse but the moment you see-”_

_“Corpses are different… they aren’t… wriggling.” Sebastian made a face that was crossed between cooing at Lilly and pouting at Myra. The other detective grinned at his expression and pulled him into a little kiss slowly. Her lips lingered over his and Sebastian couldn’t remember a time where he was so happy, that it nearly hurt._

_Lilly made a sort whining sound and Myra could already tell she already had Sebastian wrapped around her little fingers._

“Detective Castellanos?” A nurse softly said from the hallway and she looked a little concerned with the fact that he was just standing in the elevator cabin and staring at the wall ahead of him as if in pain. “Are you okay?” Her eyes were caring and light and he forced a smile for her sake before leaving the cabin of the mechanical box.

“M’fine… sorry,” His boots made dull thuds against the clean tile on the ICU floor, and Sebastian quickly tried to even out his weight to make his foot-falls softer. Satisfied with his own efforts, Sebastian was able to follow the nurse silently through the wide hallway that branched off into two sections.

As they veered off into the right hallway, Sebastian felt his stomach drop a little. This was the more intensive wing on this floor. The other hallway led down to a ‘step-down’ unit, where the patients would still be in a safe and comfortable, but the doctors were no longer concerned with them dying at any probable second.

This meant that Joseph was still at risk.

Sebastian paused outside the small unit. There was a tiny central desk with a few nurses making orders for new medicine and writing down notes on patient progress, or debilitation. The rooms looked painfully small, and the entire floor was dimmed and terrifyingly quiet to the average observer.

Sebastian could easily pick up on steady machines beeping and little alarms ringing to signal that a patient needed attention for one reason or another. He could also hear soft weeping for concerned family members and shaking voices. Sometimes he could curse his advanced hearing. Other times he couldn’t live without it.

The entire place reeked of sterile cleaners and human empathy and the detective scrunched up his nose as if the very scent burnt the sensitive skin of his nostrils.

The nurse led him to a room in the far corner and before she parted the thick blue curtain that was concealing Joseph from view, she reached out and gave Sebastian’s hand a comforting squeeze. “He looks worse than he is. Doctor Wilson checked him over again this morning and she’s confident that he’ll recover…”

“He hasn’t waken up yet.” Sebastian’s own grave and quiet tone nearly surprised him, but the nurse gently patted his arm sympathetically.

“That takes time. He lost quite a bit of blood… take as long as you like, okay? We might be in there once or twice to check his IV’s and blood pressure. My name is Karen; it’s a pleasure to meet you detective.” With another glance towards the room, she gently placed Sebastian’s hand on the curtain and bowed her head as she stepped away, giving them some privacy.

Sebastian felt his heart hammering in the back of his throat as he stood there dumbly in front of the closed curtain, his hands worrying the thick and stiff fabric. Finally, with a deep breath and burst of humility, the detective pushed open the curtain and refused to look at his partner until he’d gotten the curtain closed behind himself.

Opening his golden eyes, Sebastian nearly backed right back out again. It didn’t _even look_ like Joseph lying there in that plain white bed.

The man’s body was pale, not pale enough to be snowy, but pale enough to leave the tips of his fingers blanched and cheeks devoid of all warmth. His hair was no longer slicked back neatly, and instead his bangs rested evenly in front of his face, framing his forehead above the eyebrows. Sebastian was always used to seeing his partner’s hair threaded with a noteworthy amount of hair-gel, but Joseph’s hair was bone dry and didn’t hold that artificial shine that came with the faint smelling gel.

Sebastian had to stand there for a few moments before he could force himself to look at the bandages covering the younger detective’s body. His wrist was set in a light blue cast and it was barren of any signatures. Joseph’s neck was thick from all the layers of absorbent binding’s that no doubt held complex stiches and anti-bacterial ointment.

The older man forced himself to sit down in the chair pulled up beside Joseph’s bedside and he tried to blink past the sudden unease that curled in his stomach and caused a sharp headache. It was only after relaxing for a few moments that he realized Joseph wasn’t wearing his glasses, and with a chastising grin, Sebastian mentally berated himself. _Of course he wouldn’t need those right now_.

A small, nervous and breathy chuckle rose from his throat and Sebastian rubbed a hand over his forehead. He hadn’t realized he’d started to sweat slightly.

With a small swallow, he let his hand fall on Joseph’s bed, taking the time to memorize the cross-stitching on his partner’s blankets before he actually looked at the younger man’s face. If it wasn’t for the circumstances, Sebastian would say that Joseph looked peaceful. His face was devoid of all stress and those small wrinkles that lingered on his skin had been smoothed over with the gentle fingertips of sleep.

If Sebastian ignored the many tubes and breathing aid littering his partner’s body, he could dream of a more peaceful reason for Joseph to be resting so well. Maybe he’d just finished a hard case? Maybe he just saved a life?

Swallowing guiltily, Sebastian lowered his gaze to the floor and bowed his body slightly inwards so he could press his heated forehead into the sheets.

This was his fault. He shouldn’t have ever let Joseph smart-talk his way into that man’s place of business. They should’ve waited and then followed protocol.

Slowly, the older man let his warm fingers tangle with Joseph’s own cool ones, cradling his partner’s hand protectively in his own and being mindful of the IV that could bend if he held Joseph’s hand the wrong way.

Keeping his face pressed into the clean smelling sheets, Sebastian closed his eyes and listened to Joseph’s deep and even puffs of breath. It was so much more relaxing than the wet chokes and gasp he had made as blood poured into his airways.

He hardly realized he was crying until his chest tightened up painfully and hot tears stung his skin between every breath. Sebastian refused to acknowledge the fact that he was crying just yet.

He needed to let it all out without feeling ashamed of it.

-:-

Karen watched silently from the doorway a few hours later as Sebastian slept with his face pressed into the patient’s sheets and she could just barely see dried tear streaks on the man’s rugged face illuminated by the setting sun.

Carefully, she closed the curtain and informed the other nurses that Sebastian would be staying past visiting hours just for a little while longer.

She couldn’t bear to wake the man up now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, finally some Jojo!!  
> Yes, Sebastian can cry. I refuse to believe that he is a stone cold hard detective. He's a human who will have slight mental breakdowns and will be fatigued because of those emotional moments.  
> Meet Karen, the caring and really nice nurse who Seb will get to know well during Joseph's ICU stay.
> 
> Feedback/comments are greatly appreciated!!


	16. Don't Play By The Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kidman and Connelly have a little bloody heart to heart with their hospitalized suspect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'ed! :'>

Connelly’s side was still twinging in pain as he shuffled his way down the hospital hallways. He was thankful to be out of the gown, and had spent most of the day, after being discharged from the hospital, curled up in his apartment trying to fend off his worried parent’s phone calls. Somehow they’d caught wind of him getting injured, but after years of living with intense and overprotective parents, Oscar had learned a thing or two about white lies and downplaying injuries.

Besides, the stab wound was less than life-threatening and he didn’t want to see how they would react to seeing his bruised neck. The last thing he needed was an impromptu family reunion when he was trying to heal up and crack the suspect who was still locked up in the hospital. He hadn’t realized how hard Sebastian had bashed the man’s head in.

In fact, it was almost worrisome.

He’d seen Sebastian loose it once or twice, but over the years he’d gotten extremely aggressive. Ordinary perps who stepped out of line could run the risk of suffering through Sebastian’s glares and over threatening shouts.

Connelly knew he was no angel either, but Sebastian was a man who seemed to have fewer inhibitions than most officers.

Even with that information, Oscar could never say that he’s seen Sebastian’s eyes in that stunning golden hue. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was oxygen-deprived and in agony, Connelly would’ve swore that his friend’s eyes were _glowing_. He was pretty damn sure no drugs caused that sort of stunning reaction, illicit or not. He should know from years of officer work and his younger, more reckless years.

Shaking his head, Oscar chuckled at his thoughts as he cradled the cup of coffee closer to his face. The rising warmth comforted his frosted skin and he glanced around at the busy halls around him. Their stranger was on the second floor, and had been locked down tight. Guards were posted outside the suspect’s door night and day and he was cuffed to the bed.

Unfortunately, Oscar had yet to squeeze any useable information from the guy, and half the time he’s been in the suspect’s room their attacker was fast asleep. The nurses claimed that he was in bad shape with those ‘glass’ cuts and bashed in head.

Sebastian hadn’t been merciful.

Frowning, Oscar stays outside the door as he waited for Kidman to join him today for the interrogation. He felt an old feeling curl into his stomach and spread throughout his body as he saw the woman walk down the hall.

Today, things were going to play out a little differently. They would get answers, even if it risked their morals and their reputation.

-:-

Sebastian hadn’t slept well after leaving Joseph’s room. Karen claimed that he’d gotten a good three hours of sleep there, but he felt like he was running off caffeine and instinct. After Julie had all but forced him home, Sebastian had carefully started writing down what had happened in preparation for his reports.

At first he tried the standoffish approach. He tried to distance himself from the case and his wounded partner and instead try to write down notes in the perspective of an outside viewer.

That failed horribly the moment he’d begun to retell the events that nearly left his partner six feet under. The only satisfaction he got from that day was killing the murderer. If he was being honest with himself, Sebastian would’ve liked to draw the man’s death out.

Maybe pick him apart bit by bit with that stupid little fillet knife he favored.

That would’ve taught Mr. Jones a lesson, while also taking Sebastian’s badge in the process.

Taking a deep breath, Sebastian wandered around his empty apartment in the wee-hours of the morning. He’d gotten used to the quiet space of his home ever since losing Lilly. Her death had destroyed Myra, and to cope, his late wife had thrown herself into work. He slowly began to drown himself in alcohol. Looking back now, he almost feels contempt for their past actions. With a scowl on his face, the detective roughly pushed his coffee maker on and prowled out back into the living room.

While he waited, Sebastian stood by the large windows and stared down at the people milling about in the street. A constant ebb and flow of life was packed in those streets and even in the morning, it was all hustle and bustle.

His inner beast longed for the wide open plains of forested greenery, and Sebastian closed his eyes mournfully before stalking back into the kitchen.

-:-

“Why did Doctor Brewer call you?” Julie asked the man, who had been identified as Jay Romarius, as she shifted in the chair besides the suspects bed. Oscar stood by the door and carefully watched Jay for any signs of distress or subtle hints of lying.

The man glanced at her before thinning his lips as if in thought and finally he grunted, “No reason.” After a moment, he glanced at Kidman and was rewarded with a chillingly dark stare. Her purple eyes narrowed just slightly and the woman sat forwards in the seat.

She didn’t have time to deal with this. “Alright. So, why were you in Detective Castellanos’ room?” Sometimes Julie wished she was more like Sebastian in interrogation techniques. Leave the suspect alone with him and unsupervised for little over an hour, and Sebastian could recite their entire middle school experience by the time he was done with them, or that’s how the rumor goes.

Mr. Romarius didn’t respond for a second, and Connelly could see the junior detective’s hands clenching and shaking. They were all at the breaking point right about now and Oscar just wanted to go visit Joseph.

“Listen, Mr. Romarius, for what it’s worth, soon you’ll be locked up behind bars anyways for assault on a police officer and a detective. Would you rather we talk to you behind bars or in this nice fuckin’ hospital room?” Oscar slowly approached the man from the other side of the bed and his eyes met Kidman’s before he resumed glaring at Jay.

The suspect sank a little bit further into the bedding and refused to meet their gaze. Connelly grinned as he took a sip of his coffee, lazily standing there and relaxing his stance before he watched Julie get up and lock the door.

“I take it that means you want the interrogation done behind bars? That’s nice.” Oscar glanced lazily at Jay’s one cuffed wrist and then to his other hand with the IV drip nestled deep within his skin. “That’s real nice.”

Mr. Romarius glared at them both stubbornly before Julie crossed her arms. “A nurse isn’t due here for a couple of hours… since you’ve made a miraculous recovery with that concussion of yours…”

“You know what that means, right?” Oscar supplied after their attacker stared at the junior detective blankly. “That means it’s just us in here for a few hours. The officers outside are gone on a coffee break and we all know how long those can take…”

“Are you trying to threaten me?” The man hissed as he glanced between the two. Julie grinned and moved silently towards the man again, her heels hardly clicking as she went and with a wave of the hand, she collapsed back into the seat.

“Oh, no mister Romarius… we’re way past trying.” She whispered as Oscar dug something out of his pocket, and before the man could even open his mouth the officer was brandishing something shiny and undoubtedly sharp. “You can go ahead and scream like the coward you are, but nobody would believe you at this point. Go on.” She urged teasingly while Connelly pressed his thumb gently to the blade.

Jay glanced at Oscar and then Julie and with a deep breath, pursed his lips stubbornly. The officer burst out with a small chuckle. “We’ve got one dumb son of a bitch right here.” Julie merely smirked at Oscar’s reaction and sat back to ask another question while waiting for the moment that their man would try and use his free arm to fight back.

“Alright, mister Romarius. Let’s take it from the top.” While she spoke, Connelly took the time to slowly nudge a chair over and plop down heavily into it with an air of nonchalance. “Why did Doctor Brewer call you?”

“Fuck off, slut.” He spat in response and Julie faked a wounded pout before leaning back into the chair to watch the encouragement her friend was about to pass along.

“Wrong answer, pal.” Connelly grinned before leaning forwards and creeping the flat side of the blade across the man’s cuffed arm. “Feel free to answer my partner here at any moment.”

When Jay glared at him unbelievingly, Connelly shrugged and jerked his arm quickly, causing the tip of the curved blade to sink easily into the thin skin of the suspect’s inner elbow. As soon as the pain registered, Jay shifted uncomfortably and began to sweat but he refused to call out for help or even fight back just yet. He wasn’t going to bow so easily to them.

“Guess this confirms a tough job, detective.” His eyes flickered to Julie’s and she nodded at Oscar’s words. “He’s got a high pain tolerance. Unfortunately for him, I’ve got much more in mind. Gotta be subtle though, don’t want the nurses raising too many questions.”

As he sank the blade further into his skin and poked at the man’s tightening ligaments, Connelly was thankful for being the adoptive child of a rather shady family business.

_“What are you doing?” A small boy asked as he entered the darkened garage. His older brother and his mother were talking to each other in hushed tones as from somewhere further in the room, a cry rang out. His mother seemed to snap to attention and came rushing over to push him back towards the door. Oscar was captivated by the strange sounds coming from further in the garage. They sounded pained._

_“Not now, sweetie. We’re busy.” She soothed, crouching down to push his messy hair back. He watched while his mother’s dark eyes searched his face for any understanding. After a moment, she tutted and frowned. “Look at that bruise, sweetheart. Does it hurt?”_

_“Not anymore.” Oscar proudly blinked through the pain of the black eye he’d received earlier today. “Where’s papa? Is he okay?” Curiously, he tried to peer past his mother and into the darkened room. Usually the garage was used only as a place to fix their boosted vehicles and Oscar had never seen it in use while it was nightfall. Let alone seen it in the dark. It was creepy and the silhouetted engines and car frames loomed over him threateningly._

_His mother flicked her short hair out of her eyes and shook her head. “We’ll talk more in the morning. It’s getting late… shouldn’t you be in bed?”_

_“I guess…” Oscar deflated and pouted before letting his mother lead him back into the home through the door connecting the garage and he was herded into the living room before pausing on his way to the bedroom. “Can I please stay up a little later? My favorite show is on.” He tried to persuade, motioning to the small television that was still on in the corner._

_Pausing, his mother frowned and glanced back towards the garage before nodding. “Okay, Oscar. But you’ve got to be quiet and promise me you won’t go back out there.”_

_“Cool!”_

_“Promise me, young man.” She gently grabbed him by the shoulder and halted his happy run towards the television._

_A bit startled by her tone, Oscar turned and nodded earnestly. “I promise mama.”_

_“Okay…” Her grip subsided and she crouched to press a kiss to his face tenderly. “Try to get into bed at a decent time. It’s already eleven.” As she stood up to go, he gave her a hug and nodded vigorously. “Goodnight, darling.” With that said she crept back into the garage and closed the door firmly behind her._

_Oscar sat down on the floor by the television and found most of his attention drawn back into the garage. Eventually, the television and the characters become more interesting than the empty sounds coming from the garage occasionally and he stretched out on his stomach to watch the animated creatures fight each other._

_He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep until he was being deposited into his cool bedding and as his father turned out the light before closing the door, Oscar saw a splatter of red on his shirt._

_In the morning Oscar never questioned them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that they're being giant idiots by torturing their attacker in the hospital(Creative freedom!). Oh well, these two are stressed and Kidman kind of gives off that creepy vibe of being a woman who could sit back and call the dark shots.  
> She's a two sided coin of not being a witness to Sebastian's rage, and then causing her own pain with Oscar as her capable hands.   
> Oscar has a dark and rough life, and I will eventually try to elude to what I assume Kidman's life was like (but it'll be brief since she 'can't remember' most of her childhood.) Connelly's entire life is an odd balance of upholding the law and undermining it as well. He's a good cop gone bad, or maybe a bad kid gone good.
> 
> Comments and feedback appreciated! :)


	17. Let's Have Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian decided to track down Doctor Brewer and get some news that leaves him feeling a little too open. Julie and Connelly notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'ed...

“Have you heard of them before?” Kidman asked as she quietly closed the door to the hospital room behind them. Connelly pursed his lips and reached into his pocket to pull out his cell.

“Only a few rumors. On the street they’re considered crazy fools, like the people that watched one to many scary supernatural movies as a kid. I never messed with them.” Oscar shrugs and they quickly make their way down the hall and away from their suspect’s room.

“Who are you going to call?” Julie cast a nervous glance back towards the nurse’s station. They’d be going to check up on Mr. Romarius in a few moments now that the two were out of his room and out of their way.

Connelly hadn’t left much evidence. He’d gently worked the knife through skin and kept his blade in one area. She doubted that Mr. Romarius would ever be able to move that cuffed arm again. It was terrifying, knowing that her friend could work a blade like that and pinpoint a man’s nerves down to the point that they’d be groaning and silently begging for it to stop.

“Old friends. Hey, it’s almost lunch time; want to grab a bite to eat?” Oscar happily whistled to himself as he held the cell up to his ear and waited for the other person to pick up.

If she hadn’t have read his file before joining the Krimson City Police Force, she would have been scared and ready to report him. However, Julie had expected no less from the officer. Oscar had gone undercover in gangs and brought in valuable information under many assumed identities. He’s gone into the lion’s den for months and even made some shady friends there by sticking his hand in the creature’s mouth teasingly.

She wasn’t entirely sure about the man’s childhood. His records weren’t normal.

Then again, neither were her’s.

Grinning, Julie followed him out into the cold afternoon air before walking down the street to their cars. “Sure, why not?” She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her keys. “But I’m driving. We’ll be coming back here later anyways; the cruiser will be fine.” Oscar smiled at her response and they slipped silently into the pleasant black vehicle Kidman had parked out front.

-:-

“Any leads on the doctor?” Sebastian couldn’t sleep and he was growing restless in his little apartment, so to beat back the growing anxiety, he’d decided to follow up on some old leads. The chief would be grateful to have him out and about instead of trying to bury his memories with alcohol.

“ _Nothing yet. He left the hospital shortly after Connelly collapsed. He hasn’t showed up since. We have a wanted person’s poster out for him._ ” The unnamed officer on the other end spoke quickly and a little worriedly. “ _I think he might’ve skipped town. His neighbors said that he never came back home that night…_ ”

“Skipping town or not, we have a duty to track him down.” Sebastian grunted as he shrugged on his coat and made sure his gun was securely placed in his holster. “He could’ve killed me.”

“ _I’m well aware… Officer Connelly and Detective Kidman went to question our suspect this morning. You might want to call them to see if they found out anything…_ ” The voice trailed off questioningly and the detective grinned. Shame he didn’t get a slice of the action.

“Hey, I’ll do that. Thanks for the information.” Hanging up quickly, the man stretched his back out and grunted a little. He’d been sitting down for far too long trying to write things down.

After raiding his fridge for something to eat, he decided that those eggs were a day too old and the moldy bread wouldn’t do. He hadn’t gone shopping since Joseph was injured and with a frown, he realized he’d have to go out for lunch today.

Picking up his cell again, Sebastian opened his door and stepped out into the hallway before hitting call. Maybe Oscar and the Kid hadn’t gone out to lunch yet…

-:-

“Hello?” Oscar happily chimed in after snatching the phone from Kidman. He’d seen a few accidents caused by taking calls during a driving excursion and he wasn’t about to risk the junior detective making the same mistake.

“ _Uh… Hey, Oscar… Kidman there?_ ” Sebastian’s voice sounded tired and confused as to why the man was currently answering the woman’s calls. “ _You guys busy? I mean, if you are…_ ”

“Whoa – _whoa_ , buddy, slow down there. I don’t like where this conversation is headed. I haven’t even taken her out to dinner _yet_ …” Julie sent him a questioning glare and Oscar shrunk down into the seat a little. “Okay, enough fun and games. What’s up?”

“ _I’m hungry and I heard that you guys already questioned our little late night hospital intruder… I was wondering if you’d give me some details. I’m going to try and search for Doctor Brewer._ ”

“We just finished up questioning him. Got some pretty interesting information. Pretty sure he wasn’t lying… We’re heading to that little restaurant on the corner of 47th and 5th. We’ll meet you there, Sebastian.” After waiting for the man’s grunt in agreement, Connelly hung up and placed the phone back into the empty cup holder. Oscar pouted at the glare she shot him every so often as he lounged back. “Hey, the roads are icy and I don’t need to be giving you a ticket for prohibited cell use while driving.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time I get in the car, officer.” She jested before focusing once more on the road, a small smile on her lips. “And Italian is my favorite.” Julie added with a nonchalant shrug, her eyes flickering to the side to see the man’s response.

Connelly’s stuttering and confused reply was worth almost running a red light.

-:-

Sebastian leaned back in the booth with a frown marring his features. “You’re… kidding, right?” He muttered after a moment, eyes narrowing and nervously glancing to the side of the table where the bill sat.

“Nope. He swore by it.” Oscar’s hand snuck towards the bill as Julie took another bite of her burrito besides him. Sebastian sent him a withering warning that made the man’s hand fall back into his lap. It was some sort of unspoken protocol that whenever Sebastian was angered, he paid for the meal. They just chipped in for the tip and paid for the drinks.

“So, Doctor Brewer was connected with a bunch of supernatural hunting freaks?” Sebastian grunted as he riffled around in his pocket for his worn wallet before unhappily yanking it out and glancing at the cost of the meal. Twenty five. Nothing he couldn’t cover for today. “And he called that man because…?”

“Because he thought that you were, and I quote, ‘ _a golden eyed son of a bitch’_.” Oscar watched while his friend slapped down the exact amount of twenty-four dollars and thirty cents before glancing towards Kidman as she sat forwards again.

“Freaks or not, they sent somebody to hurt you. Whoever they are, we’ve got to be careful.” Julie watched while Sebastian nodded solemnly in understanding. “We’ll ask around for any information.” Kidman watched while Sebastian swallowed oddly and shifted his shoulders against the blue booth. He looked a little too nervous for the information he’d just gotten.

Finally, Sebastian grunted, “And I’ll be searching for the doctor on the side. Thanks for lunch, it was great.” With that said, the detective unceremoniously stood up and shrugged on his coat before heading towards the door and out to his vehicle to take the search elsewhere.

As Connelly glanced back towards the junior detective, they both could tell something was up with their friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Slowly hints at another ship* .....o-o.....  
> I'm introducing a few new plot points in this tiny chapter, hope it's starting to make a little bit of sense... >:3
> 
> Feedback appreciated!!


	18. Hunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian goes hunting for doctor Brewer, and Joseph gets a new visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-betaed!! :']

If Sebastian was being honest with himself, it was almost unfair to have this sort of an advantage. He’d slowly picked up a few hints throughout the day, but during the nightfall is when his search really began.

Under the cover of the moon he could sneak through the streets silently and get a new perspective on things. He could also move a lot faster on four feet than two.

Slowly winding his way through the streets, Sebastian shut off some unnecessary senses his human mind could provide and instead focused on one thing, scent. A quick visit to the hospital and a flash of his badge had gotten him access into Doctor Brewer’s personal locker in one of the many break rooms. An old shirt and a pair of shoes offered enough for the detective to go off of.

He’d crept around the man’s home. It was large and dark. The driveway was empty and the lawn was covered in neat snow, undisturbed. Doctor Brewer hadn’t been there for a while, and Sebastian had quickly decided to make a quick stop at a few well known hotels and motels that would support the doctor’s elegant lifestyle.

It was by pure luck and coincidence that he witnessed the doctor leaving one of the many hotels around dusk, and he’d decided to follow him carefully. The man went to a local restaurant for dinner and then had slowly made his way back towards his preferred place of hiding. Sebastian made sure to beat him too it and wait out in the parking lot in his most animal form.

He’d almost forgotten how hot it was to be under all the wolf’s thick fur and he’d lazed about in the shade of a bush until it was cool enough to stalk around the parking lot and wait for the doctor to arrive. Finally, he heard the lone sound of an engine rolling into the area and with a flick of the ears, Sebastian pinpointed Brewer’s car in the west entrance.

With a grinning pant, Sebastian made his way over and made sure to stick close to the shadows already offered by parked cars and to steer clear of any street lights that illuminated the parking lot. Once he’d seen the man settle for a parking spot, Sebastian rounded his way back towards the bushes of an alley and decided to try and play the man’s heart a little.

He couldn’t risk being seen by the security camera’s just yet, and he maneuvered his way to the mouth of a darkened alley. After making sure that the doctor was out of his overly expensive vehicle, Sebastian did something he loathed doing.

He whined and moaned and tried to win over Brewer’s attention by playing the part of a wounded animal in the alley.

With another overly dramatic whimper, Sebastian watched while the doctor paused and turned towards the alley with a look of worried confusion.

-:-

Connelly and Julie were expecting to be questioned by the nurses that had undoubtedly seen the damage they caused to their patient, but instead they were greeted with something much more fearsome.

In the tiny package of five foot five and sharp fitting dress was no other than Sarah Oda, Joseph’s younger and fiery sister. She had gotten a haircut since they had last seen her, and now her dark locks were cut close to her face and framed her oval features quite nicely.

Before Oscar and Julie could attempt to blend in with the hurrying nurses, Sarah caught them. “Mr. Connelly, Miss Kidman? Is that you?” Her kind voice nearly betrayed her fuming temper, but the way that her eyes kept darting around revealed her true intent.

Julie nudged Oscar in the ribs and the man internally groaned before answering and creeping forwards. “Sarah, when did you get here?” There were only a few people who could make Oscar’s neck hairs stand on end, and Sarah was one of them. The woman was a boiling pot of anxiety and anger when tragedy struck her family, and she had blown up on him only once.

It was not something he particularly liked to remember. Especially considering the fact that she was worrying over a sever wound Sebastian had received at the time and _not Joseph_. Now that she was here because of her older brother, Oscar wasn’t sure what to expect.

She stood there and waited until they were closer before answering. “My flight landed a little over an hour ago. The traffic here is horrible. I just got to the hospital a few minutes ago… I’m waiting to see Joseph.” Sarah took a deep breath and pushed a curl of dark hair over her ear before continuing. “Miss Barren called me yesterday. I booked a flight as quickly as possible… Is he okay? Have you seen him yet?”

Connelly shook his head while Julie stepped up to bat. “Sebastian saw him yesterday. Doctor Wilson said that he’s stable and we’re all waiting for Joseph to wake up…” The way Sarah’s hopeful features dropped worried Kidman and she guided the other woman to the row of unoccupied chairs across from the main nurse station. Oscar followed behind cautiously and took a seat next to Julie.

“Miss Barren said that Sebastian was also injured with Joseph… is he here still?” Sarah bit her lip and restlessly toyed with one of the many rings on her fingers.

“Sebastian’s doing a lot better. He’ll be back some time tomorrow and then you guys can talk. He got a pretty serious concussion, but he’s starting to feel a lot better.” Julie’s eyes darted to the movement of the other woman twisting a copper ring and she frowned. “Hey… are you staying at a hotel?”

“I-I haven’t made any reservations yet. I need to talk with my company to see how long I’ll be staying with paid leave…” Sarah gave a tight and giddy sort of laugh. “I’m sorry; it’s been hours since I’ve last slept well…”

“That’s okay. We’re all having trouble sleeping lately… Listen, I have an empty room in my apartment that’s open to you. It might be better to have someone you can talk to, Sarah.” Kidman offered with a little shrug as Oscar mechanically got up and wandered somewhere else.

“Really? I’d hate to impose…” Sarah trailed off as her eyes landed on Connelly’s retreating form. She watched as the man approached a coffee machine of sorts after waiting in a small line of nervous and fatigued people before he made a cup.

Kidman’s voice brought her attention back to the junior detective. “I actually could use the company right now too. This is rough on all of us…”

As Oscar returned, he offered a cup of plain coffee to Sarah, and the woman smiled before taking the warm cup with a silent nod in thanks. “I appreciate this, Miss Kidman.”

“Please, call me Julie.”

“Alright, Julie… thanks.” A small smile graced her lips as she took a sip of the coffee and realized that Connelly had remembered to add a little extra creamer to her cup.

-:-

Sebastian slammed the man against the wall with a feral snarl, having leapt up from behind the large dumpster and taken the doctor off guard. Brewer yelped and struggled before he noticed who it was, and he internally chastised himself for being so foolish. Stray dogs weren’t common in this neighborhood.

“Hello, doctor. I’ve been looking all over for you.” Sebastian growled roughly before tightening his hold on the smaller man’s shirt collar. “Did you know that there’s a _warrant_ out for your arrest?”

When Brewer didn’t answer, Sebastian felt rage prickling under his skin. This man had somehow figured out that he wasn’t quite human and he also miraculously had a group of Hunters on speed dial. He’d done this sort of thing before. Selling out wounded creatures and sending them to the butcher.

“No?” The detective tilted his head and felt his fangs lengthening once more. “You’re wanted for fleeing a crime scene and endangering a member of the Krimson City Police Force… the judge won’t be kind. But before I take your lying ass to jail…” Sebastian’s vision cleared around the edges and the image of Brewer struggling in his grasp became crisper in the night air, “I’m going to ask you a few questions.”

This man could’ve endangered his wife. Myra reported going to the hospital a week before she went missing.

Hauling the shaking man higher against the brick wall easily and letting his claws come into play, Sebastian snarled at the doctor and let his palm slowly close off the man’s airway threateningly. “ _And you’re going to answer every single question I have, got it?_ ” The detective’s voice became weighted down with a gruff growl and Brewer panicked even more as he saw those eyes become a deep golden glow.

Before the man could scream and cry out for help, Sebastian’s thumb pressed down neatly over his windpipe, silencing any cries by force.

“ _Make this easy on yourself and just answer my fucking questions… otherwise I’ll force them out of you._ ” Sebastian warned with a flash of capable canines, and the doctor found himself nodding vigorously.

“O-Okay,” Brewer rasped weakly, feeling his head swim and his heart jump in fear once more before Sebastian’s thumb eased up a bit.

“ _Good._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Sarah!! She's going to play a good part in a few upcoming chapters... >:3 
> 
> Sebastian's just casually going to pull some info out of the poor doc... hopefully they'll be enough of him left to turn in to the station by the time he's through with him.
> 
> Feedback greatly appreciated!


	19. Losing Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian wakes to the smell of blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'ed.  
> Warnings of heavy gore/hinted cannibalism.

_“Detective Castellanos?” A small voice stirred him from his drugged slumber, his mind half on the edge of consciousness and peaceful rest. As he opened his eyes slowly, Sebastian caught the sight of a small woman with long straight hair pulled back into a tight bun._

_He licked his lips and gently lifted his hand in greeting. He doesn’t remember his body being this heavy. “Yeah,” Sebastian rasped after a moment, his breathing coming out in a painful wheeze. She bowed her head and gently slipped inside the room before taking a seat in the chair Joseph had occupied a few hours earlier._

_“I’m Sarah. Joseph’s sister… I’ve come to give my best wishes.” She pointedly stared at his middle. His stomach was a mess of bloody bits and shrapnel at this point, but Sebastian was mostly too drugged to properly gauge the amount of pain he was in. He’s not quite sure how she had gotten past all those nurses running around the busy ICU, but he was glad for the company._

_Soon she would be herded out, just like Joseph. He didn’t even realize his partner had a sister. He never talked about his family much._

_Letting his eyes slip closed, Sebastian opened his palm and didn’t flinch when he felt her smooth hands slide into his own roughened one. She had cool skin and it made the detective breathe a sigh of relief._

_Everything felt hot and stuffy in the room and machines screamed and his middle ached with splintering pain and Sebastian can still hear the explosion ringing in his ears and Oscar’s pained cry. Furrowing his brow, Sebastian wonders if his friend was alright._

_Sarah whispered something and gave his hand a squeeze before Sebastian finally let the soft caresses of sleep pull him under._

Sebastian awoke with a start and sat bolt upright. His alarm clock was howling at him and the man groggily hit it a few times until it finally shut off. With a confused and slightly pained moan, Sebastian buried his head back into the pillow and tried to close his eyes again but before he could fully relax, a strong and putrid scent hit him.

Overwhelmingly coppery and acidic all at the same time.

It was all over the place and clung to him like a thick smoke, and with a worried growl, the detective forced his eyes open.

No amount of alcohol could prepare for him for what he saw.

Blood everywhere. All over him and smeared onto the bed. Sebastian found that he was still in his clothes, minus his coat, tie and his harness. Copious amounts of the darkened and drying substance was _soaked_ into his front.

Choking on the smell, Sebastian pushed himself up off the bed and glanced around his room quickly with terror pounding through his veins. _What the hell happened to me_? Sebastian thought with a gag as he peeled his slimy vest buttons open.

His hands were caked in the gore and he could feel it building up and drying under his fingernails. The pinstriped vest fell to the floor with a wet thud, and he was amazed to see that the blood had sunk through the fabric of his vest and into his white undershirt.

With a groan, he carefully flicked his dress shirt buttons open and then yanked the material off his arms and over his shoulders. As golden eyes took in the image of bloodied clothes lying in a pile on his muddied floor, Sebastian ran a hand through his hair and paused as he felt his dark locks clinging together.

Stumbling into the bathroom, Sebastian pawed around for the light and blinked past the glaring brightness so he could get a better look at himself in the mirror. He didn’t like what he saw.

Blood was smeared over his face, mostly surrounding his mouth and nose and was flaking off in dried, brown chunks whenever he opened his mouth. The gore had even made its way into some parts of his hair, making a few strands stand up oddly at dried angles.

With a horrified snarl, he stumbled back into the far wall and squeezed his glowing eyes shut. _Not again, please, not this again_ … Sebastian sank down to his knees on the tiled floor and felt his jeans pulling unhappily around his thighs. His stomach lurched and made him automatically lunge towards the toilet with a dry heave before he was suddenly retching an odd mixture of dark chunks and thick liquids.

Coughing and wheezing, Sebastian pressed his face into the cool porcelain of the toilet and drew in wet gasps of air. Sweat beaded on his exposed skin and he shivered with a groan before gagging once more into the bowl.

Dreading the sight that awaited him, Sebastian forced his eyes open and groaned miserably at the contents that were once inside his digestive track. He almost vomited again at the rotting stench that rose up and he hurriedly scrambled back once more.

“ _Fuck_ …” He rasped, running a hand over his forehead and smearing blood there before rubbing at his eyes and curling up defensively. “Fuck, Myra… what do I do?” Sebastian whispered to her ghost as if he was actually expecting an answer.

He’d spewed out a mixture of gelatinous blood and lumps of what looked like to be innards. The viscera was mostly fresh, and Sebastian had to concentrate past the raging thoughts of his inner beast to clearly remember some of the events from the night before.

_“Who was she?” Sebastian shouted in anger before shushing himself as he threw the doctor from the wall and roughly onto the floor of the filthy alley. The doctor tried to crawl away hurriedly, but Sebastian felt his body raging once more, his control was ebbing away and he hardly recognized the thick fur sprouting up on his forearm as he reached out to grab at the wounded doctors ankle and drug him back._

_“Please! Please – I told you – I don’t know!” Brewer shouted at him and was rewarded with a kick in the teeth. Muffling his pained cry, Sebastian snarled and felt his bones lengthening painfully and making his mind blank out with Brewer’s choking cries._

“Shit.” Sebastian took in a deep breath past the thick and oily substance of gore that was clogging his airways and dragged himself into the shower. It took him a couple of times to actually turn the water on. He didn’t even care if it was hot and the downpour heated up to burn his skin.

He just needed to get clean, and quickly.

Sebastian’s fiery passion to rid himself of the gore slowly simmered out as he watched the water turn _red_. Curling up on himself, Sebastian simply laid there under the spray of scalding water. He couldn’t do this alone. Myra used to tell him horror stories of the times she’d gone ‘crazy’ and he had never imagined him committing the same acts of terror his wife had.

It occurred to him that he needed to call somebody. Somebody who _knew_. He quickly sat up and thought about grabbing his cell, but with a crushing realization, he suddenly remembered that the only other person alive who knew was Joseph.

And Joseph was currently in the hospital.

With an anguished cry Sebastian tugged at his hair and tried to ignore the biting pain of his claws. He knew that he needed to calm himself down somehow and clean up. He needed to hide this evidence. He needed to put on an impassive face and pretend that he wasn’t fraying at the seams. He needed to get out there and fight for the past.

He needed to forget the fact that he was a monster.

-:-

“Sebastian never came in today.” Sarah spoke quietly as she stood in the ICU room and watched her brother sleep. “Connelly and Kidman don’t seem too concerned, but I need to talk to him.” Her eyes drifted to Joseph and she waited for a response before slowly shaking her head.

After a few moments, she sighed and picked up her purse and her black coat. “I’m going to go pay him a visit. I assume he still lives down in that hell hole of an apartment complex…”

Before she left, she paused by the blue curtain and turned back to watch her brother. With a frown, Sarah moved back over to his side and gently pushed his hair away from his face with a tremble in her touch. “There… there, much better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short but serves a good purpose. Sebastian has a bad habit of losing control when he's pushed too far.
> 
> This was also heavily inspired by NBC's Hannibal. 
> 
> I'm going to keep it vague as to what happened to our doctor's body. But given Sebastian's morning, I assume you can guess what happened.
> 
> I also drew this a few months ago, it's kind of what I use for a certain anthro form of the werewolf I write about.  
> [[ http://polargrizz47.tumblr.com/post/98004471803 ]]  
> *note that this is actually a concept design for Cyrus, an OC of mine, but I'm going to go ahead and use this concept for Seb too. M'kay?
> 
> Love to hear feedback~:>


	20. Sarah’s Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah visits Sebastian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'ed!

Sarah had always felt bad for her brother’s friend. Sebastian’s entire family and his livelihood were stolen from him by flames and alcohol.

As she sat in the back of the cab and listened to a baseball game, the woman let her mind wander to Myra. She was a kind woman and would’ve made a great mother if Lilly hadn’t died in that fire. Myra was always full of questions, eager to prove herself and she kept a tight rein on Sebastian.

At first it confused Sarah as to why Myra never called often, but after a while, her life partner and her had slowly started to figure things out. With a frown, Sarah wonders how things are doing back in her household.

She wonders if her little boy and her lover are almost done packing up their home.

The driver eventually pulls to a stop outside of the apartment complex and she tips him well in cash, “Don’t go spreading passenger stops around, alright buddy? Buy something nice for yourself this holiday season.” With that, Sarah slips out of the cab and adjusts the purse around her shoulder before taking a deep breath of the apartment complex around her.

Her nose scrunched up from the smell of trash in a back alley and something tangy. She can’t place her finger on the odd scent, and Sarah quietly slips her gloved hand into her purse. Her gun was still there.

Smoothly, she brushed her fingers against the cool metal and pulled out Sebastian’s spare key that she had hooked on a keychain with her favorite lacrosse teams symbol hanging off the metal loop. Sarah slipped up into the apartment complex’s main lobby and nodded towards the front desk as she quickly went up the short flight of stairs.

She remembered that Sebastian lived on the third floor. As she climbed those muddied stairs, the odd stench became stronger and she was finally able to identify it.

-:-

Sebastian awoke to the sound his front door being opened slowly and the old metal hinges did their job in alerting him with their creaks. He sat up from the edge of his bloodied bed and stared expectantly down the hall.

He was expecting the chief to come with a small force to put him under arrest. He wouldn’t fight them. Sebastian knew he needed to do something. He’d been losing control, slowly, like thick mud dripping from his fingertips.

He wondered if they’d throw him into some lab and poke around in his skull until they figured out how the more instinctual side of himself ticked. Sebastian tried to imagine himself tied down to a table and drugged out of his mind.

Perhaps they’d follow Ruvik’s laboratory method? Dig around his mind and find out what exactly makes a nocturnal detective crave blood. Maybe they’d make some serum out of his blood to cure cancer? Maybe they’d just keep him locked up in a zoo and feed him entrails through a grate?

As his golden eyes lifted from the bloodied spots on the floor, Sebastian’s disgusting thoughts all came crashing to a halt.

Sarah stood there in the hallway with a gun in one hand and a hard expression on her face. Sebastian didn’t move, but his eyes flickered to the gun and his inner beast tried to kick him into gear. He refused to cooperate.

Sarah was a friend. He wouldn’t hurt her.

As her dark lips opened up, Sebastian tried to place the color of her lipstick. Maybe dark purple? Black? She was a fashion designer and always set new trends. Then his eyes landed on the gun. It didn’t quite look normal…

“Sebastian… dear god; look at this mess.” She glanced around the place and lifted her other hand to her nose. “You’re not supposed to be in society during this phase…”

“I’m sure I’ll get locked up.” He muttered sadly, staying seated on the bed and listening to her slowly approach. Sarah carefully stepped over his bloodied clothes and shook her head before taking a deep whiff of the place.

“I can’t let that happen. It’d kill Joseph to see you like this… he knows, Sebastian. He’ll blame himself for letting you go berserk.” Sarah glanced at the pitiful detective’s slumped position before carefully slipping into the bathroom. She peered into the toilet and narrowed her eyes. “Did you throw up?”

“Yes.” Sebastian muttered after a moment, his eyes focused back on his damp shoes as he thinks about Joseph. She was right, Sarah was always right. Joseph would fall into a dark depression if Sebastian ever got caught.

They promised to keep each other’s secrets.

_“We won’t talk about what happened in there, Seb.” Joseph stands by his door with crossed arms and Sebastian unlocks it before ushering his partner inside._

_They don’t say anything for a moment, and Sebastian watches while the younger man moves to his worn couch and sits down heavily in it. A puff of dust rises from a few weeks of absence._

_He still has a hard time believing they were locked inside that hellhole for a little over a month. It’s obvious that somebody set it up that way. The SWAT was called and they all converged in on the hospital._

_Sebastian tries to ignore the prickling warning feeling creeping up his spine at the thought._

_“I’m serious, Seb.” The younger man says again, staring at the dusty television with a frown marring his features. They’re all fresh from being hospitalized and Joseph and Sebastian had somehow ended up at the older man’s home._

_Neither questioned it._

_Sebastian hung up his coat and noticed Joseph’s shoes by the door. He never noticed the younger detective kicking them off. Slowly, the man made his way to the couch and sat down heavily besides his partner._

_“I know, Joseph. They’re going to question us again.” Sebastian lets his hand fall over the crown of Joseph’s knee and the man stares at his hand. It was only then that he noticed Sebastian wasn’t wearing his wedding ring anymore._

_“We’ll do what Julie has done. Go silent for a while. I’m not even sure what happened to Oscar…” Joseph frowns at the thought. He never saw the man leaving the filthy mental hospital before being forced into unconsciousness._

_Sebastian saw him in a hospital room. He saw the man’s father and his shady family all crowding around the room and silently warring with the police officers who were supposed to guard Connelly’s door. He knows that his adoptive family somehow managed to sneak off with the man._

_He doesn’t question their methods._

_With a little sigh, Sebastian gives Joseph’s knee a squeeze and nods. “We can do whatever we want. We can even leave…”_

_“Do you want to?” Joseph asks quietly, his hand moving to cover Sebastian’s own._

_He doesn’t answer._

“Who was it?” Sarah sounds far too calm for the current bloodied scene she was standing in. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sebastian hears her flushing the toilet and turning off the shower. He doesn’t remember leaving it on in the first place.

“It wasn’t anyone worth noting.” Sebastian grunts, closing his eyes as he hears her walking back towards his bedroom. Her heels become silent as she crossed the threshold from the bathroom tile to the stained carpet in the hallway.

“Sebastian.” She urges him quietly as she loads something into her gun. Sebastian expects her to shoot him in the head. Just end it already.

He always got this weird feeling around Joseph’s sister. Sebastian couldn’t figure out why she set his inner beast on edge with her kind smile and her fair features. Maybe she worked for some undercover agency? Maybe she was a super spy from Canada and Joseph was working some IA angle and feeding information to her?

“Look at me.” She orders in a stricter tone, and Sebastian finds himself lifting his head mournfully towards her. His hair sticks to his damp forehead and his eyes are nothing but a soft glow of exhausted amber. “We’re going to help you.”

He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t know how to, and Sebastian doesn’t move to get away when she lifts up the gun and instead simply yelps with a surprised flinch when something sears into his thigh. Finally, the detective seemed to gain some sense of what was happening.

The sharp pain woke him back up. With a groan, he glanced down at his thigh and saw a plume of orange sticking through the fabric of his damp jeans. It almost looked like a sedative, the kind they used on large animals in those nature documentaries Lilly used to like watching.

All words seem to leave his mind suddenly and instead, Sebastian feels like his mind and body are being bogged down. Whatever was in the small tube was already flowing through his veins and he yanks the tranquilizer dart out of his thigh with a small grunt.

Sarah slips the gun back into her purse and watches as he tries to stand. She’s not surprised when he collapses back against the bed with a confused groan. “Shh,” She soothes, walking over to push him back gently against the bed.

As his vision starts to pulse in time with his hammering heartbeat, Sarah presses her cool gloved hand to his sweaty forehead. “You’re very sick, Sebastian. Myra shouldn’t have ever changed you…”

He couldn’t make sense of her words, and before his eyes slip closed heavily, Sebastian can clearly see one thing.

Sarah’s normally dark eyes were glowing golden like his.

And then it suddenly clicked. The reason the woman unnerved him was because she was another wolf. She was like him.

He never realized it because the only other wolf he’d known was Myra.

Sarah threads her fingers through Sebastian’s wet hair and purses her lips as she pulls out her cell and makes a call. She watches while the older detective finally goes into a deep slumber thanks to the sedative pumping through his veins.

It was enough to knock out several men, but not enough to efficiently knock out a horse. She’s confident that Sebastian will sleep comfortably throughout the trip.

“ _Hello?_ ” The voice on the other line filters through with a crack and Sarah smiled gently.

“We’re ready for transport. Did you get the others?”

“ _They’re all set. What about Joseph?_ ”

“He’s in too critical of a position to move him. We’re going to have to wait.” Sarah moved to the windows and narrowed her eyes. “We need to be gone by tomorrow. The Hunters are going to track them down eventually if we don’t. Sebastian’s apartment is a bloody mess.”

“ _What’re you going to do?_ ” The voice sounded like a small smile and it relaxed Sarah.

“I’m going to get rid of evidence.” She carefully slipped her hand into her purse and pulled out a lighter and a bottle of strong smelling fluid. “We’ll meet you down in that alley. We’ll have to move fast.”

“ _I’m almost on the way. This guy’s dog is huge. I don’t know why we need to bring the damn thing…_ ”

Sarah nearly laughs. “Myra used to tell me stories about that beast. The dog’s name is Daisy. It was a birthday present from my brother. It’d be rude to leave the poor thing alone until this all blows over.” After a moment, she frowns. “You didn’t leave any evidence, did you?”

“ _I’m not a rookie anymore, darling. I’m locking the animal up in the kennel now. We’ll see you soon._ ”

As the line goes dead, Sarah walks back to inspect Sebastian and checks his pulse. It’s strong and steady and she doesn’t waste any time in raiding his kitchen.

With some plastic Tupperware in hand, she gathers up some tin foil, Clorox and a variety of power cleaner that she doubts Sebastian had ever used. After mixing it all together and then topping it off with a little splash of the odd fluid in the clear bottle, Sarah places it all into the microwave and set’s it on low before she hurriedly moves back into the man’s room and allows herself to shift into her most natural form.

She had to move Sebastian down into that alley. _Thank goodness for fire escapes…_ Sarah thought to herself as she pushes open one of Sebastian’s windows with a skilled and humanoid paw.

The tricky part was going to be getting the man out the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SARAH WHY? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHO ARE YOU KIDNAPPING? WHO IS THE OTHER VOICE ON THE PHONE? WHY ARE YOU GOING TO DESTROY POOR SEB'S RUN DOWN APARTMENT?  
> So many questions... Sarah is laying down the law.
> 
> She's got a dark secret that she's been keeping from Joseph and the others for a long time.  
> Looks like her and Seb got a lot more in common than the old man originally thought.
> 
> Feedback greatly appreciated!!


	21. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Joseph sleeps, he goes over memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'ed and short! :'[

In the hospital room, Joseph lies alone in the room and is watched over closely by Karen, who stares out the window at a burning apartment complex in the distance. The woman glances at the young detective and presses her hands to her lips in sympathy.

Two days later, she learns that the man who came to visit Joseph earlier had gone missing.

_“I’m done.” Joseph said calmly as he unclipped the oval badge from his belt, and slowly unbuckled the holster that was attached to the worn leather. His hand still ached with agony and he knew that his skin would never heal properly._

_“Agent Oda, please, reconsider this rash decision. We can give you time off to clear your mind…” The woman behind the desk spoke in a crisp and worried tone. Her eyes still hold the galaxies in them and he has to turn his gaze away._

_“With all due respect, ma’am, I can’t go back into the field. Not in this field at least… No amount of therapy will make me go back out there.” Joseph watched her mouth open and he shook his head firmly. “I’m not going to be some desk jockey, either.”_

_The woman finally nodded in understanding. Every agent had a breaking point. “Have you talked to your sister about this?”_

_“Yes.” Joseph swallowed down a little anxiety. “She believes it’s a good choice, given the cause of my retirement.”_

_He set the badge and the gun on the table, then his phone before nodding once and bowing just slightly. “It’s been an honor serving here, ma’am.”_

_“It’s been our honor to have you, Joseph.” She spoke softly, sadly and watched while one of their best turned and walked back towards the oak door separating her office from view. “Joseph.” She called once more, and his hand paused on the warm handle of the door._

_“Yes?” He turns his dark eyes onto her once more and she thins her lips out._

_“Our establishment is always open… if you change your mind.”_

_A small, forlorn smile graces the young man features and he nods._

_Joseph Oda packs up his supplies and leaves for America that afternoon._

-:-

_On the plane over, Joseph finds a small package tucked into his carry on, and with a doubtful glance at his surroundings on first class, the man slowly opens the dense manila letter._

_Inside are a pair of thick, black leather gloves and a simple note._

_‘Dear Joseph. It’s going to be different here without you, but I know that we made the right decision. I know that your hand is probably never going to heal correctly like Ruben stated, and I decided to pass these down to you. I hope it helps. Love, Sarah.’_

_Feeling the smooth leather against the skin of his good hand, Joseph glances over to the scarring tissues on his other and frowns. Ruben was right, of course. The damage they had done to his hand was irrevocable._

_Silently, Joseph pulls on the gloves and nods at the way they effectively hide his wound._

_Satisfied, Joseph spends the rest of the flight staring out the small window and doing his best to politely turn down any offers from the flight attendants._

-:-

_It was only after Myra went missing that Joseph was delivered another letter concerning a team Sarah was heading to go investigate the crazed ramblings of a few scientists and their experiments. She stated that it was a ‘silencing’ mission, and Joseph was smart enough to burn the letter._

_He never wrote back. He knew that by doing so, he would place Sarah’s reputation on the line. It was risky enough that she was still writing such sensitive information to him._

_Sarah never gave no indication of how that mission went._

_Months later, Joseph learned the hard way that it hadn’t gone well at all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm hinting at some of the major plot twists I'm doing with this. *in other words, I'm ripping apart TEW in-game plot and forcing it to suit my creative desires. Sorry Ruben, your tragic circumstances will be explained later.*
> 
> Also, if you didn't pic up on it-Sarah lead a team to investigate STEM. It did not go well for anyone involved.  
> Then Jojo and Seb learned about STEM the hard way.
> 
> Love some feedback! :'>


	22. Can't Keep A Good Man Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tatianna and Sarah discuss Sebastian; Ruben and Leslie play chess and the chief gets suspicious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone. I'm reposting this chapter and adding some important things. :>  
> Unbeta'ed!

Tatiana glances at Sarah as she hauls herself into the truck after getting Sebastian settled in the camper. “He’s sedated. I see that Mr. Connelly and Miss Kidman are also under the influence…” Her eyes still hold some residual glow as she buckled herself in and nodded towards the other woman

She grins and shifts gears before slowly pushing their truck out of park and they move slowly down the street. They’re already on the highway leading away from Krimson by the time somebody notices Sebastian’s home is ablaze.

Sarah closed her eyes and presses her forehead into the cool window as she watches the snowy scenery fly by. “We’ll have to come back for Joseph.”

“We will.” The driver agrees before placing her hand comfortingly on Sarah’s knee. “Hey, he’ll be fine. Okay?” Tatiana smiles as Sarah turns her attention towards her once more.

“Yeah… I just worry about him, you know? He’s one of the only things I have left… We already lost Laura and you and Ruben almost…” Sarah narrows her eyes and twines her fingers with her girlfriend’s. She doesn’t like remembering that awful mission with STEM. They weren’t even able to shut it down and instead Joseph and Sebastian were dragged into it.

Tatiana doesn’t say anything for a moment, and instead hums a simple little tune. It’s soft and winding and it instantly reminds Sarah of the song Laura used to play on the piano for Ruben whenever he wasn’t feeling well.

They drive in silence and Sarah lets herself get lulled to sleep by Tatiana’s gentle humming.

-:-

“R-Ruben?” Leslie’s nervous voice takes his mind off the experimental sketching in front of him, and the older man turned to face the paler one. After a moment, Leslie bites his lip and points a shaky finger at the drawing pad in his partner’s hands. “Laura?”

The blond glanced back towards his charcoal sketch and carefully smears another lock of his beloved sister’s dark hair on the canvas before nodding. “Yes, I miss her. I can’t remember what happened to us.”

_“Ruben, come on, we can rest here.” Laura checks her rifle and drags her younger brother into the old wooden barn. Ruben collapses once the door closes and she’s by his side worriedly. “Let me see…” Moving his hands away from the bloody wound on his side, she narrows her eyes. “It’s bad, Ruben.”_

_He tries to smile, but only ends up shuddering and curling up a little when Laura prods at the slice too much. “It hurts, Laura.”_

_“I know… There has to be first aid somewhere… Fuck,” She runs a hand through her long black hair and paces back and forth. “Sarah has to be somewhere around here… she probably went after Tatiana after those… those_ things _drug her off…”_

_Ruben doesn’t remember falling asleep, but he clearly remembers Laura dragging him away from the spreading flames and screaming. “Come on – we’ve got to get out of here!” He follows her lead, but the entire barn is coming down too quickly._

_He doesn’t remember anything else from that point on besides his sisters blistering screams. The next thing he knew, Ruben was strapped down to a table and being examined by two men. One thin and bearded, the other round and bespectacled. He wants to ask what they’re going to do to him, but from the corner of his eyes, he sees Sarah lying limply on a table in a pool of blood. Some part of him knows this all some fucked up reality, because Sarah was one of their best agents. She wouldn’t die in one piece._

_Then he saw a thick needle filled with green and he struggles against their hands as the injection looms closer. When he woke up again, he was being shaken awake by a flash of fangs and teeth and blood. “We don’t have much time. He’s going to come back, Ruben. Are you with me? Ruben!”_

_There was a boy there, a boy who was very pale and very scared._

_They couldn’t save him._

_They never find Laura’s body._

He remembers going through intense therapy with Sarah and Tatiana. He remembers a fire that his mind believed as true, which rendered his right eye blind and his right hand devoid of all sensation. He remembers that doctor tearing his mind into two parts. Ruben remembers Ruvik and sometimes wonders if that split personality was actually dead for good.

He knows that Tatiana suffered some sort of personality split as well, though hers wasn’t as severe as his. With a small sigh, he wonders if Laura ever survived. He’d count her absence of a body to bury as a good thing. Maybe she was still roaming out there. Ruben sets aside his drawing supplies and settles against Leslie’s side to stare past the television without an ounce of care.

News was never very interesting to him. It never affected them up here in their isolation.

“What happened to us?” Leslie parroted before shifting besides Ruben and moving to stretch out against the couch. He makes a face before staring towards the tinted windows of the living room. Leslie likes the sun, but his skin is far too sensitive thanks to years of abuse to even go enjoy the warmth without the aid of an umbrella.

“Bad things, Leslie.” Ruben answers simply before running a hand through Leslie’s pale hair fondly. “Tatiana told me that we’re going to have company.”

“Company. Company. Seb?” Leslie turns to face the other man with another bite of his lip before he notices Ruben’s smile. He mirrors the grin and sits up taller. Ruben doesn’t move and simply closes his eyes.

“Yes, Sebastian and a whole slew of newcomers will be here. Sebastian is sick though. Joseph is supposed to come too. I don’t think he will. Not yet. Sarah… she was worried.” Ruben lists off the things with a simple shrug. A door opens somewhere from behind them and a small chill passes through the room. Another agent, most likely.

Leslie turns his head to see who it is before sighing uninterestedly and tucking his nose against Ruben’s head. The blond hair tickles him, and Leslie doesn’t mind. “Bored.” He mumbles after a moment and the older man shifts, moving to stand. Leslie frowns unhappily as he watches Ruben stalk across the room, away from him, before opening a small chest shoved into the corner of the room by the television.

“Let’s play a game then.” Ruben suggests as he riffles through the chest, and Leslie slowly nods before moving to join the other man on the floor to help pick out which game to entertain themselves with.

Hours later, while both of them are curled up around a chess set with Ruben losing miserably, the phone rings and startles them both. It takes some searching but they find the cell tossed carelessly under a pile of blankets and it’s Ruben who answers for them.

“Victoriano.” He mutters distractedly, moving to lie on his stomach and stare at the board. He enjoys the wood carvings of the knights the best, and he knows that Leslie likes the queens. Ruben isn’t surprised that he’s losing. Leslie is so very smart and it’s his troubled past and nervous personality that makes other people think otherwise.

“ _We’re on the way. Sebastian is ill, like Leslie suggested. He’s fevered and it wasn’t a pretty scene when I got to him._ ” Sarah’s voice makes Leslie perk up and Ruben places the cell between them and puts her on speaker. “ _I had to burn his apartment to scorch some of the evidence. The Hunters are already on his trail._ ”

“Don’t bring them here.” Ruben mutters sarcastically while he moves a pawn on the board and is immediately crushed by one of Leslie’s knights. It was a foolish move and he realizes that now with a stubborn pout.

“ _Hunters wouldn’t dare come that far up North. We’re safe there._ ” She pauses to say something to Tatiana about making a left hand turn before focusing once more. “ _How are things there, you two?_ ”

“Boring.” Leslie answers with a smile as he watches Ruben’s blue eyes critically studying the board. They both knew he was fighting a losing war, and it made the younger man grin triumphantly.

“Quite boring, I must agree. If I was in better health, I’d be tempted to go skiing.” Ruben toys with a knight before sliding it into a new slot. Leslie glances outside to all the fluttering snow and pillows his face in his pale palm before watching his partner curiously.

“Skiing?” Leslie croaks with an inquiring tip of the head. Ruben makes a quiet hand motion to his friend, signaling that he’ll explain later.

“ _Please don’t ski, Ruben. I can see costly medical bills and the organization is already overstepping boundaries with America by taking these three…_ ” She trails off and Tatiana’s laughter is heard from far away. Leslie smiles at the sound.

“So, now we’re kidnappers? Miss Anderson is going to be _so_ very disappointed.” Ruben grunts lazily while he waits for Leslie to make another move. Said move makes him frown even more. He really needs to figure out what made Leslie so good at this game.

“ _Miss Anderson encouraged this, let me remind you. Hey – we’ve better go. The connection is kind of fizzing on this end… we’ll be there within two days._ ”

“Alright. Goodbye you two.” Ruben smooth’s his blond hair back and picks up another player on the board.

Leslie echoes his goodbye before eagerly scooting closer to the board and waiting for Ruben to make another bad move so he can finally place his queen, who he named Annabel, into the winning position. Ruben always played with the red team and Leslie was content with his blue team.

“Ruben?” Leslie softly asks as he watches Ruben place down a pawn with a defeated expression on his sharp features.

“Yeah?” Ruben answers without missing a beat, rubbing his right thumb and forefinger together futilely. They both knew he couldn’t feel that sensation, but the thought was always nice.

“Checkmate.” Leslie’s perfect grin is priceless, his once rotted and unkempt teeth now straightened and healthy.

Ruben lets out a puff in defeat before muttering, “Blasts!”

-:-

_“Sebastian?” Joseph’s fingers are suddenly dancing along his shoulder and the older detective grunts drunkenly. “Seb, you’ve got to come with me.”_

_His bleary gaze lands on the nervous and thin line of his partner’s lips before he groans and rubs at his face with the hand that wasn’t clutching the booze like a lifeline. “Joseph?”_

_“Yeah.” Is the only answer he’s given before Sebastian’s vision starts to seriously blur. He drops the alcohol with a groan, the tumbler clicking against the bar top and Joseph is helping him to his feet. “Connelly told me you’d be here.”_

_“Fuckin’ gangster cop ratting me out.” Sebastian drawled with a drunken laugh as he wrapped his arm around Joseph’s shoulders to keep himself steady._

_He doesn’t remember getting to his home, but while he spends his morning in the bathroom, nursing a hangover, Sebastian silently thanks Joseph for his selfless help._

-:-

By the time they get nearly halfway to their hidden location, Sebastian had already caused irreparable damage to their trailer. Somehow, Sarah grits her teeth against the memory, Sebastian had gotten up. She had carefully measured out each dose of the tranquilizer she had loaded in that dart, painstakingly ensured that Joseph’s partner wouldn’t end up comatose or dead.

Of course, with Sebastian’s die hard reputation, she should have seen it coming. She hadn’t fought him once he’d waken up and nearly ripped the hinges off their trailer, she’d simply injected him once she had a clear shot. Sarah would have laughed at the location the dart went into, his ass, if the situation wasn’t that distressing.

Pulled over on the side of the road with a crazed and fevered half-blood and a couple of humans drugged out of their mind and the constant risk of people driving up the old slope and spotting them.

Tatiana found it all rather amusing when Sebastian crashed down in the trailer again and was out like a light. Sarah shot him once more just for good measure and silently prayed that she didn’t just overdose the detective. Joseph would freeze her and then shatter her if she ever killed his dear friend.

“He’s going to be hard to keep locked down.” Sarah grimaces at the thought. “His immune system isn’t handling it well…”

“What?” Tatianna shakes her head, pulling them back out onto the road and keeping an eye out for any ice or debris that could be on the mountain path. Her girlfriend thinned her lips at her own thoughts and the driver laughs. “Come on, you were a little hell raiser during this time.”

“Yes, but I was at the facility.” Sarah shot back with a hiss, and then slowly deflated. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to nip you in the ass. I just… He’s _huge_. Myra made a large man into a large canine, and she didn’t even do it _right_. He’s lucky he hasn’t gone into shock yet.”

“What exactly happened to him?” The woman had studied werewolves extensively ever since Sarah was bitten on a mission gone horribly wrong. They’d lost a few good agents that day, and Sarah almost joined her team in death.

“When you’re bitten, antigens flood into your bloodstream. There’s no virtual way to clear the infection after a certain time, because it nestles into your CNS. The more you… use your wolven side, the more the infection spreads.” Sarah bit her lip at her own experience. “It’s painful, and you can experience black outs of uncontrollably. Remember that conference?”

“How could I forget? You went berserk.” Tatianna spoke evenly, keeping her eyes ahead and on the windshield. “We almost had to kill you.”

“Yes. We hadn’t realized that a wolf can grow ragged and deranged. Once the infection spreads too far into your brain, you slowly start to lose control and everything goes into instinct. Without the proper help and rehabilitation, any infected person can completely go feral. Sebastian’s mind is probably on fire, and the only way to beat back his instincts is to pump him full of medicine to keep the swelling down.” Sarah crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Joseph told me that he’d been seeing Sebastian blank out more often…”

_“Sarah?” Joseph sounds tired, and the clock reads three AM on her wall. Sarah groans a little and forces the sleepy dust from her mind._

_“Joseph? What time is it?” She hissed, sitting up in her bed and trying to concentrate. “Is something wrong?”_

_“No, no of course not…” He trails off and then sighs, “Okay, maybe Sebastian’s starting to lose it.”_

_“Lose it? Joseph, if he’s showing signs of an unsound mind, you’ve got to get out of there. I know that what with you went through-”_

_“I’m not leaving his side, Sarah. Listen, just …just tell me what to do.”_

“We should’ve stepped in sooner…” Sarah internally cursed herself for neglecting to detain the detective sooner. “Once we get Sebastian settled, I’ll figure out a way to work around the hospital and get Joseph up here.”

“Seriously? I don’t think it’s safe to move him…” Tatianna quickly holds her tongue at Sarah’s hard glare and shifts the trucks gears downwards as they climb over an incline in the road.

“We moved Ruben and Leslie. He’ll be fine.” Sarah watched the fluffy flakes fall from the sky and she wonders how Ruben’s going to explain himself to a deranged and struggling Sebastian.

-:-

Amanda carefully stood between Joseph’s and Sebastian’s empty desks. She stares hard at the empty and dirtied coffee cups on their desk and the unfinished reports littering Kidman’s desk. It seems like yesterday the entire group was wasting time in the office.

_“Julie, check it out, I think the killer is a stripper.” Connelly snickers as he tosses a clear evidence bag that contained leopard print, lacy underwear. Kidman’s face contorted in disgust while Sebastian inhales his coffee and sputters into the cup._

_Joseph simply stared at Oscar with a frown. “Officer Connelly, where did you get that evidence? I’m not sure it’s part of our case…” He tries to remain serious while Sebastian’s laughter was causing him to choke on the coffee._

_“Oh, now I’m in trouble.” Connelly snickered before picking up the bag and holding it close to his face. “Officer Connelly.” He mimicked Joseph’s strict tone before sitting on the edge of Kidman’s desk and ignoring her little, irritated pokes to his side. His eyes linger on Sebastian, who had since taken up patting his chest to try and alleviate his laughter and near chocking._

_Joseph stares at his partner for a moment before groaning and dragging himself over to the older detective’s desk. “Seb.” He sounds a little annoyed and lets his gloved hands rest on either of the man’s shoulders. “Are you choking over a pair of ladies underwear?”_

_“Hey man, it might not be ladies underwear. I mean, check it out.” Connelly stood up and placed the bag over his crotch, trying to make the illusion that he was wearing it. Sebastian now seemed to completely give up on air as Oscar gave his hips a shake and Kidman slapped a hand to her face. “Looks pretty good on me, I might buy me a pair of…_ oh _…” Oscar’s face fell into embarrassment and he dropped the evidence and folded his hands behind his back with a sheepish smile. “Hey, chief.”_

_Sebastian bit down on his lip hard to stop from roaring with laughter while Julie hid her snickering behind her hand. Joseph was silent for a moment before dissolving into a quick fit of giggles at the turn of events._

_Amanda stared at them all as the entire private office erupted into a loud laugh and she couldn’t help but to smile. Her eyes lingered on the underwear on the floor and Connelly’s red face. “Alright, everybody.” She spoke only after the uproar had quieted, “Get back to work…”_

_She noticed how Sebastian was staring at his partner with a little look of wonder in his eyes. It was rare to see the ever professional Joseph laughing on the job, and the subtle hiccupped laughter warmed the room._

_Oscar bent down before plucking the underwear from the ground and nervously holding it in one hand while the chief paused by the door, “Oh, and Connelly?”_

_“Yes, ma’am?” He muttered, still red in the face and glaring at Julie when she snickered again._

_“Keep your stripper dark side from the precinct, thanks. The last thing we need is more street walkers getting booked.” She left Connelly stuttering in defense, and when the door closed, Sebastian let out another bark of laughter before Oscar threw the evidence into the older detective’s face._

Amanda frowned and stared at the marked up map of Krimson on the wall before crossing her arms. She found it odd that the sister appeared, vanished and nearly her entire detective department went missing.

Something didn’t sit right with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever to write and add to. LOL  
> Again, recap, the nurse and Ruvik were split personalities that STEM ripped from Tatianna and Ruben.  
> I wanted to add some silly cop shenanigans... :P
> 
> Comments/feedback greatly appreciated!


	23. What Happened?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connelly wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very unedited!

_“Alright everyone, what’s all this about?” Connelly asked as he rolled up his sleeves and turned from the grill to the sounds of giggles wafting from his, admittedly small, backyard. Joseph’s back was turned to him, and Sebastian shot him a sly grin as they held a squirming bag._

_Julie giggled as she glanced at Oscar’s approaching form. “Shh – he’s coming,” She crooned, making the three of them dissolve into an odd stillness. Oscar was instantly curious. He’d just invited them to share a couple drinks and hotdogs for his birthday, it wasn’t anything fancy._

_He tried to think of anything hilarious that could be lying around his yard, and the only thing that came to mind was a headless pink flamingo. “Uh – guys,” He started, falling short on his question as Joseph whipped around holding up a thick, multicolored paper bag._

_It wasn’t filled with any fancy papers, and only had a simple ‘Happy Birthday’ on the front. Joseph prompted him to take it with a wide, anticipating grin while Julie and Sebastian stood by either side and mirrored the expression._

_Oscar felt his cheeks warm. He always felt like he was too old to be getting birthday presents, c’mon, he was just turning 30. Not like it was groundbreaking or anything…_

_But as the bag squirmed and whined, Connelly felt his heartrate pick up as he automatically moved to cradle the bag in his hands. As he peeked inside, a downy and black pair of ears popped from the depths, followed closely by a pair of big brown eyes and a soft yip._

_They’d gotten him a dog._

-:-

With a ragged cough and a low groan, Connelly lurched forwards from the depths of his sleep and tried to get his breathing under control. He almost jumped out of his skin as a cool and wet thing nudged against his arm, and it took the beat-cop a long while to realize it was his own dog once the high-pitched whined accompanied the moist actions.

“Hey, girl,” He wheezed, patting the dog’s side as she cuddled up against him, her large tail thumping against the covers. Oscar narrowed his eyes against the darkness as he took in his surroundings.

He’d been placed in a large bed, the covers a deep plum color and Daisy had been given a bowl of food and water. Groaning, he held a hand to his head and tried to remember how he got here.

The last thing he could clearly visualize was his garden… that damned flamingo… he was watering plants?

Oscar wet his lips and sat up a little more, ruffling the thick dark fur on the gentle giant at his side before noticing something else across the room.

Another bed.

He simply stared at it for a long while, his body feeling weighed down by an unknown numbing agent and his mind slow and fuzzy with remembrance, but as the bed shifted and another small groan rang out, the man knew exactly one thing for sure…

“Julie!” He barked with excitement as the woman stretched on the bed and reached up to hold her head.

_What the hell happened to them?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> I've got four more days of pure testing hell and then I'M FREE FOR THE SUMMER!!
> 
> Hope I didn't lose the interest of too many people with this fic during my unannounced interlude...


	24. Family Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family ties, when strong, are the toughest threads to break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited!

Sarah paced as she watched the man sleeping on the bed, Sebastian’s body haphazardly sprawled out in the depths of a drug induced slumber. He wasn’t well, but she wouldn’t know how sick he truly was until he stirred.

Until then, it was a waiting game. One she was all too familiar with.

She’d been there once, too. Having lost control during a rather important meeting, nearly slicing through her upper handler with thick, sharp claws. She’d been so angry back then, easily triggered by the slightest of things; worst of all, Sarah had been hungry, too.

A brief shudder crawled up her spine and she narrowed her eyes before moving away from the wall. It was built with a two-way mirror in it, the glass thick and bullet proof. It would be able to withstand the blows of a werewolf out of control.

After all, it had held her for days before her swelling subsided.

-:-

Amanda kept her gaze steady as she stared at the fuming man across the length of her desk. Connelly’s family had decided to make an impromptu visit, regarding the matter of their missing son.

She had never realized that his family was so intimidating.

Oscar’s father had a scar pulling at his lip, but the worried snarl situated on his face drew more attention. The chief got the feeling that he was no man to be trifled with, if the longing worry radiating from his narrowed eyes was anything to go by.

_“Papa?” The boy sniffled, rubbing at his eye tenderly while he was hefted onto the man’s hip. His mother’s fluttering, nervous hands patted at the young boy’s thigh while his father gently grabbed his hand._

_“Shh, lemme see it.” He soothed, pulling his son’s hand away to look at the swollen eye there. Anger boiled up in his belly upon seeing the purpling flesh there. “Who did it?” He demanded, releasing Oscar’s hand carefully._

_The young boy proceeded to press his palm over his teary face, another sob wrenching up his throat as he wriggled in his father’s grip. “It doesn’t matter,” He demanded tirelessly while the man walked across the parking lot._

_Oscar couldn’t clearly remember the last time he’d been carried like this, and he would have protested otherwise but his father was already trembling with rage. He was old enough to walk now, but his body ached and his eye throbbed between his embarrassed sniffles._

_“It does matter.” His father said after a moment, his voice thin with control. He was a young man, still youthful in appearance and quick in his steps._

_After a few swallows, the boy, not even in double digits yet, piped up with a, “But why does it matter, papa?”_

_His mother frowned, watching her husband closely before the man grit his teeth and growled, “It matters because you are my son.”_

He stood up sternly, a frown worrying his features before he growled, “I’m going to find my son, Chief.”

With a stern and tight smile of her own, Amanda stood up to show him out. “As am I, Mr. Connelly.”

After all, she was no woman to be trifled with, either.

-:-

Sarah sat on the couch uncomfortably, watching as Leslie and Ruben immersed themselves in another game of chess. A small, foreign smile twitched onto her lips as she watched them.

For such a regal doctor, Ruben found himself sprawled out on the floor, comfortably resting on his belly, more often than other physiatrists would think. But he was happy doing so, and enjoyed the mental exercise chess provided.

Even if Leslie beat him time an again at it.

Eventually, she let her mind wander.

_ “Joseph?” She giggled, poking her head through the door to see her brother sitting on his bed, reading. With a blink, he pushed up his glasses and peeked over the pages of his novel to regard her curiously. _

_ “Yes, Sarah?” He asked, setting aside the red covered book while she hopped up onto his bed, a giggly bounce accompanying her movements. _

_ The girl tossed and turned for a moment before settling against the pillows, pushing her feet out and wiggling her toes in the frilly, white socks. “I can’t sleep.” She admitted, nudging him playfully before poking at his book. “Read to me?” _

_Joseph gave her a toothy grin, one of his baby teeth had fallen out on the bottom row and his hair was a frizzy, bed-headed mess, but Sarah still thought he looked smart. While he picked up the book, she pulled up the blankets around them both and huddled in closer to hear him recite the words to ‘The Little Prince’._

_And even though he stumbled over the pronunciation a few times, and paused to breath through his excited breaths, Sarah found herself put at ease and steadily growing tired._

Although she had smiled unknowingly at the memory from their childhood, a frown steadily overtook her features as she remembered her brother’s current situation.

She already was itching to hop in the car and bring him back safely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't have my laptop fixed, so don't know when updates will be regular...
> 
> Really hope I still have a few readers! :3
> 
> Please feel free to comment, those messages brighten my day!


	25. Rude Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M STILL ALIVE! :3  
> Unedited.

_Joseph took a hasty step back as Sebastian’s echoing roar flooded throughout the area, the echoing sound being enough to halt his movements. In this form, the elder detective was hard to keep up with, and even though Joseph wanted to have Seb’s back, he didn’t want to watch._

_Sebastian was terrifying in this form, a large, towering mixture of wolf and man. His limbs stretched out and fingers topped with thick claws. The fur bunched around his throat and trailed down his spine, fringing out at his tail and giving him an appearance of a bloodied mane._

_Large gold eyes stared at him from the depths of a blood smeared face that was all teeth and rage. Joseph knew that Seb would never try to hurt him, but like this… the younger man had his doubts._

_Guilt nipped at him as he scrambled around the corner, following the sounds of crunching metal and low snarling. He leveled his gun and was surprised to find Sebastian toeing off against The Keeper. A quick glance around the area showed more than one safes lying around, and Joseph knew they had to get out of this place, and fast._

_A pained yip drew his attention, and Joseph’s stomach dropped at the sight of Sebastian being thrown into the far wall. The wolf let out a series of threatening, guttural sounds, all snapping fangs and slashing claws._

_But The Keeper was undeterred; it grabbed him by the throat with one hand and lifted its massive hammer with the other. Sebastian let out a low snarl, long claws sinking into The Keeper’s arm and tearing._

_Fabric and rubber fell away, revealing a mass of squirming, red flesh that seemed to melt away as Sebastian dug his grip in tighter._

_Joseph fired two shots into the Keeper’s shoulder without much thought, the shots sinking deep into the creature’s body and leaving little blood. But it got the beast’s attention._

_It finally yanked its arm back as Sebastian gave it another slash, sending the apron falling to the floor in a mixture of blood and pieces. The Keeper lifted Sebastian off the ground with impressive strength and threw the wolf down towards another safe._

_Golden eyes rolled as his head connected with the metal. Satisfied, The Keeper turned towards Joseph next. It could deal with the troublesome wolf later, when this pest had been vanquished._

_Joseph backpedaled as it approached him, heavy footfalls echoing down the corridor. He only had one way to go, and slipped back around the corner, scrambling over spilled blood and old safes. Joseph pushed himself into a sprint, hoping that he could find a good place to attack without worrying about being out in the open._

_He wanted to go back and see how Sebastian was doing, knowing that the older detective was at risk just lying there, but he knew that The Keeper needed to be taken care of first. Checking his ammunition, Joseph hoped that he had enough bullets to take it down._

_Sebastian had already wounded it, and Joseph knew he had to act fast to take advantage of that._

_The corridor leads him into two, metal swinging doors. The man paused, smelling rotting meat wafting from inside. Quickly, Joseph spins around to find another exit, and was greeted with The Keeper’s charge. Firing off two more shots in quick succession, Joseph pushed his way through those doors._

_The meat was a problem, and the man ran into the first hanging slab, nearing losing his gun in the mess as he scrambled through the rotting flesh. The Keeper was hot on his heels, smashing through the meat without a second thought._

_Panic rose in his chest and Joseph realized he’d never get a clear shot in this mess. It was by pure luck that he saw the red button on the wall, and the tiny service elevator besides it._

_He threw himself into the cramped space without a second thought, grabbing onto the doors and pulling them down with all his might. The old metal groaned and The Keeper’s hammer glinted in the dim light._

_Squeezing his eyes shut, Joseph waited for the inevitable._

_Instead of getting his brains bashed in, Joseph was greeted with the ear piercing ringing of a guttural howl in the freezer room. He watched from behind bloodied lenses as Sebastian jumped onto The Keeper’s back, claws sinking into its shoulder and teeth snapping just under the box-like head._

_In its surprise, it dropped the hammer and reached back to try and grab at Sebastian as the wolf finally latched onto the throat. Blood spewed from the open wound and a metallic shriek was drowned out by the wolf’s triumphant snarl._

_Joseph watched as The Keeper fell to its knees, finally defeated._

_His throat tightened as the wolf swayed and collapsed in the gory mess, fur melting away to reveal the detective’s vest and tan skin. Sebastian braced himself on one arm before gagging, his mouth full of the creature’s vile blood. With a groan, the man fell forward completely._

_“Sebastian!” Joseph shouted, ready to pounce out of the tight space. However the metal chose that moment to finally kick into gear, and it unceremoniously slammed down in his face, trapping him in total darkness._

_“Wait – Seb? Sebastian!” He pounded at the metal with a growl gurgling in his throat. “No – god dammit!”_

The monitors in the ICU room rose in pitch as their beeps became more demanding, and the nurses hurried into the room to see the patient jerking forwards with a strangled sound rattling from their throat.

Joseph’s voice cracked painfully, and he opened his eyes up frantically, vision blurred and heart hammering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooooo~  
> Who is ready to have Joseph back in action?
> 
> I love comments! :>  
> Hope I still have some readers - sorry for the lengthy waits... :c


	26. Waiting, Watching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive. Just suffering with college.  
> Uhm...  
> Unedited.

_A clawed hand dug into the crumbling cement as the creature let out a vibrant snarl. Slowly, Sebastian hauled himself back up onto the top floor, bloodied wounds making the process hesitant and painful._

_His hind legs gave him the last kick to fully roll over the crumbling edge, now a somewhat safe distance from his very near-death fall._

_This city was becoming a deathtrap now._

_Shaking his head, Sebastian gave a low snarl as he moved to his feet, massive paws clenching painfully as he finally stood tall._

_Battered ears perked forwards in response to a distant ghouls shrieks, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up straight. Letting out another growl, the detective slowly began to wind his way towards the sounds, following the path of a road that looked safest._

_The clicks of his long claws echoed off the paved path, and his massive reflection looked disturbing in any passing mirrors. He was covered in blood, now matted in several areas and wounded in others._

_Even walking through the murky depths probably wouldn’t be enough to wash away the drying redness._

_Huffing, the wolf lifted his snout and gave the area a good scent, still searching for his partners or for the pale-haired kid._

_Unfortunately, he came up empty handed._

_Nobody had been here for a long while, only decaying corpses and mindless dolls._

_So he kept searching._

-:-

“Has he woken up yet?” Ruben asked her, pale-blue eyes focused on the tablet in his hands.

Sarah shook her head, barely glancing over to peek at his video feed. For now, it looks like they were all alone. The snow around their home undisturbed by any and all creatures. Even deer avoided the oddly placed household.

She assumed that the overwhelming scent of powerful wolfen creatures might’ve been keeping them at bay.

Those dark eyes flickered back to the form of the detective sleeping on the large bed, his shirt damp with sweat and hair a mess. Sarah was already making plans, a regimine of medicine to stop the fever while they waited for the swelling to cease.

Sarah was expecting that the older detective would put up a fight when it came to waking up, but hopefully she could dangle a few things over his head and calm him down enough to talk him through what the next few days would be like for him.

Nearly a living hell.

-:-

Oscar sat heavily on the edge of Kidman’s bed, his gaze focused onto Daisy, who was sprawled out on the floor by his feet.

“What do you think is going to happen?” The beat-cop finally asked her, clearing his throat for a moment and rubbing at the back of his neck.

It felt sore, as if he’d recently received a shot there.

“I’m not sure… they went through all the trouble to bring Daisy,” Kidman gave the dog a pointed look, but smiled as it only made the large canine’s tail wag in response. “I doubt they’ll kill us - not yet anyways.”

“Yeah, but,” Connelly gave an irritated groan, “I can’t figure out what they want. Information? Human test subjects?”

Julie sent him a withering glare at that last thought, and Oscar guilty shook his head.

“Sorry.” The man said with a weary sigh, nearly jumping right out of his skin when Julie surprised him by running her warm up over his back.

“We’ll figure this out. But for now, we should look for a way out of here.” The junior detective was always business, which gave Oscar a clearer sense of focus.

“Yeah,” He said with a nod, smiling at her tightly, “But can we wait until this shit clears off?” He waved at his head, “Still feelin’ a little funny.”

The woman gave a tiny laughter, the ringing sound making Oscar’s heart swell, much to his embarrassment.

“Alright,” Julie said, patting him on the back again. “I actually think that’ll be a good idea.”

“I’m full of those,” Connelly said with a teasing smirk, and she gently poked him in the side just to watch him squirm.

Daisy gave a low rumble by their feet, interrupting any snappy reply Julie could send his way. Instead, they all paused as they heard footsteps looming outside of the locked door.

Both officers held their breath, listening to the sound of a slight humming echoing into the room. Whoever the hell had kidnapped them must’ve been in a good mood.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shrugs* I'm just trying to get back into the grove of things...  
> Hope I still have some readers! .... ;-;

**Author's Note:**

> Really protective and subtly possessive werewolf boyfriend Seb is a huge part of later chapters.  
> This first one is rather rushed, mainly because I didn't write it until 12 AM! (So there are errors, this is un-betaed!)
> 
> The other chapter will be more interesting, hopefully.  
> Love to hear about what you guys think so far! :)


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